Business Partners

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American Hotel & Lodging Association
Serving the hospitality industry for nearly a century, AH&LA is the sole national association representing all sectors and stakeholders in the lodging industry, including individual hotel property members, hotel companies, student and faculty members, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides members with national advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other value-added services to provide bottom line savings and ensure a positive business climate for the lodging industry. Partner state associations provide local representation and additional cost-saving benefits to members.

American Trucking Associations
The mission of the American Trucking Associations, Inc., is to serve and represent the interests of the trucking industry with one united voice; to influence in a positive manner Federal and State governmental actions; to advance the trucking industry's image, efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability; to provide educational programs and industry research; to promote safety and security on our nation's highways and among our drivers; and to strive for a healthy business environment.

Association of Equipment Manufacturers
AEM is the international trade and business development resource for companies that manufacture equipment, products and services used worldwide in the construction, agricultural, mining, forestry, and utility industries.

BESTT: Business for Economic Security, Trade, and Tourism
BESTT is an international coalition of businesses and trade associations from across the United States and Canada who share a common concern about the ramifications of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Our goal is to raise awareness of the important cultural and fiscal ties that exist across the border, and to help ensure public policies that promote these ties, while still addressing the legitimate security concerns of both countries.

The Binational Tourism Alliance
The Binational Tourism Alliance (BTA) is a not-for-profit, membership-based tourism industry trade organization whose goal is to eliminate the barriers to cross-border tourism development in binational Canadian/U.S. regions while maximizing prosperity, sustainability and quality-of-life in these important destinations.

Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight Security
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
The Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight Security was established in the Spring of 2005 to conduct and disseminate research in the area of intelligent transportation systems and freight security. The Bureau's goal is to develop a base of expertise, a collaborative network, and a research agenda in partnership with both government and industry that will lead to a sustainable long-run program.

Canada-U.S. Transportation Border Working Group
The Mission of the Transportation Border Working Group is to facilitate the safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods across the Canada-U.S. border. The TBWG brings together multiple transportation and border agencies, and other organizations, to coordinate transportation planning, policy implementation, and the deployment of technology to enhance border infrastructure and operations. As such, this forum fosters on-going communication, information sharing, and the exchange of best practices to improve the transportation and the safety and security systems that connect our two countries.

Canadian-American Border Trade Alliance
Their mission is to maximize global commercial activity and ensure continued growth of two-way cross border trade along the entire common U.S./Canadian border and assure efficient, productive border crossing capabilities, and to provide unified leadership for border concerns, operations and needs and to act as an effective, proactive and focused border issues resource.

CABC: Canadian-American Business Council
The CABC is the premier voice of the Canadian American business community in Washington. Established in 1987, the Council is a non-profit, issues-oriented organization dedicated to elevating the private sector perspective on issues that affect our two nations. The CABC's activities include high-level briefings on issues of current concern, assistance with practical trade and policy challenges, and providing significant networking opportunities and informative seminars.

Canadian Council of Chief Executives
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the CEOs of Canada's leading enterprises. We engage in an active program of public policy research, consultation and advocacy.

Building a stronger Canada economically and socially is our national mandate. Helping to make Canada and our enterprises number one around the world is our global mandate.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
Canada's largest trade and industry association, CME promotes the continuous improvement of Canadian manufacturing and exporting through engagement of government at all levels. Its mandate is to promote the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturers and enable the success of Canadian goods and services exporters in markets around the world.

Representing Canada's largest business network, CME's membership is drawn from all sectors of Canada's manufacturing and exporting community and from every province across the country. The association represents Canada's leading global enterprises and more than 85% of CME's members are small and medium-sized enterprises.

Together, CME's membership accounts for an estimated 75% of total manufacturing production and 90% of Canada's exports.

Canadian Trucking Alliance
The Canadian Trucking Alliance is a federation of provincial trucking associations. We represent a broad cross-section of the trucking industry—some 4,500 carriers, owner-operators and industry suppliers.

With our head office in Ottawa and provincial association offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, CTA represents the industry's viewpoint on national and international policy, regulatory and legislative issues that affect trucking.

Coalition for Secure Trade and Efficient Borders
The Coalition for Secure and Trade-Efficient Borders was formed by over 55 Canadian business associations and individual companies to help the federal government, through dialogue and cooperation with Canadian business, successfully deal with border and security issues. It is one of the largest business coalitions formed in Canadian history, and represents the vast majority of business activity in Canada. Its members are from all sectors, including manufacturing, services, exporting, importing, technology, transportation, retail, tourism, hospitality, energy and agri-business, and represent businesses of all sizes. The Coalition's steering committee is composed of the heads of three major horizontal associations - Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business - and the co-chairs of its three working groups on customs and border management, security and immigration, and transportation and infrastructure. For a complete list of the coalition's members and resolutions they have passed, click here

Council of State Governments
Founded in 1933, CSG serves the executive, judicial and legislative branches of state government through leadership education, research and information services. The Council of State Governments is the premier multibranch organization forecasting policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths and territories on a national and regional basis.

CSG alerts state elected and appointed officials to emerging social, economic and political trends; offers innovative state policy responses to rapidly changing conditions; and advocates multistate problem-solving to maximize resources and competitiveness.

CSG promotes excellence in decision-making and leadership skills and champions state sovereignty.

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)
C-TPAT is a voluntary government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve overall international supply chain and U.S. border security.

Detroit Regional Chamber
The Detroit Regional Chamber is made up of member companies that make a volunteer annual investment in order to receive an even greater return on their investment at the end of the year. Currently, more than 23,000 businesses across the region have decided to make the initial investment to help develop their company.

Free and Secure Trade (FAST)
The Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program is a joint Canada—United States initiative involving the Canada Border Services Agency and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

FAST supports moving pre-approved eligible goods across the border quickly and verifying trade compliance away from the border.

It is a commercial process offered to pre-approved importers, carriers, and registered drivers. Shipments for approved companies, transported by approved carriers using registered drivers, will be cleared into either country with greater speed and certainty, and at a reduced cost of compliance.

Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a membership organization representing industry, non-governmental organizations, trade associations, organized labor, educational and financial institutions, economic development groups, chambers of commerce, governments and others united to promote, enhance and preserve manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region.

The International Mobility and Trade Corridor Project(IMTC)
IMTC is a U.S. - Canadian coalition of business and government entities that was formed to jointly identify and pursue improvements to cross-border mobility in the Cascade Gateway. The shared goal is to better facilitate trade, transportation, and tourism with innovative improvements to infrastructure, operations, and technology. Over 50 organizations participate in IMTC. IMTC is led by the Whatcom Council of Governments.

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is the state's largest and premier business advocacy organization. As the statewide voice of business, the Chamber represents more than 2,600 businesses of all types and sizes across Minnesota. The Minnesota Chamber excels at offering private-sector solutions to public-sector problems.

National Association of Manufacturers
The NAM's mission is to enhance the competitiveness of manufacturers by shaping a legislative and regulatory environment conducive to U.S. economic growth and to increase understanding among policymakers, the media and the general public about the vital role of manufacturing to America's economic future and living standards. The NAM is the nation's largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 10 additional offices across the country. For NAM's position on WHTI, click on the links below:



National Federation of Independent Businesses
The National Federation of Independent Business is the largest advocacy organization representing small and independent businesses in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. It's purpose is to impact public policy at the state and federal level and be a key business resource for small and independent business in America.

National Foreign Trade Council
The National Foreign Trade Council is the premier business organization advocating a rules-based world economy. Founded in 1914 by a group of American companies that supported an open world trading system, the NFTC and its affiliates now serve more than 300 member companies through offices in Washington and New York.

National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations.

The National Tour Association
The National Tour Association (NTA) has been working with other industry groups to make the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) more palatable to the tourism industry.

NEXUS Trusted Traveler Program
NEXUS is designed to expedite the border clearance process for low risk, pre-approved travellers into Canada and the United States.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business in the City of Ontario. It is business' strongest and most effective advocate. Ontario is a city of small and large businesses, so the Chamber's influence is especially vital and must be flexible. Small businesses cannot do it alone and large businesses need the support of our organization.

Original Equipment Suppliers Association
The Original Equipment Suppliers Association provides a strategic forum for the automotive industry's original equipment suppliers. Membership encompasses suppliers of components, modules, systems, materials and equipment used by the original equipment automotive industry.

Formed in August 1998, OESA provides a forum for automotive suppliers to address issues of common concern, serving as a resource for industry information and analysis, promoting the interests of the OE supplier community and serving as a voice and positive change agent for the industry.

With nearly 400 members having global automotive sales exceeding $300 billion, OESA represents more than 65 percent of North American automotive supplier sales.

Partners in Protection
The Government of Canada is committed to working with the business community to increase security at the border. The Partners in Protection (PIP) program is a voluntary initiative to help detect and prevent contraband smuggling.

Under the PIP program, participating private industries sign an agreement with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Working together, the CBSA and the partner company develop a joint plan of action, conduct security assessments, participate in awareness sessions and consult on a regular basis. The CBSA also reviews the partner's security measures and provides guidance, advice or suggestions to address any potential gaps.

Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce
The PLATTSBURGH-NORTH COUNTRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE is a regional chamber serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin and northern Warren Counties in New York State and southern Quebec. With more than 3,200 members, it is the largest business and economic development alliance in northern New York and one of the five largest chambers in the state.

PNWER: Pacific North West Economic Region
Created in 1991, The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) is a statutory, public/private partnership composed of legislators, governments, and businesses in the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and the Western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon Territory. PNWER promotes greater regional cooperation by governments and business to enhance the region's global competitiveness, while striving to maintain or improve its environment. If it were a nation, PNWER would rank 10th among the world's leading industrial economies, with combined population of more than 18 million and an annual gross regional product of over $697 billion (USD).

TIAC/AITC: Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Founded in 1930 to encourage the development of tourism in Canada, TIAC serves today as the leading national private-sector advocate for this $62.7 billion industry, representing the interests of the tourism business community nation-wide. TIAC's membership reflects partnerships among all sectors of the industry, and provincial, territorial and regional tourism associations, enabling the association to address the full range of issues facing Canadian tourism - forcefully and effectively. Its activities focus on legislative and regulatory barriers to the growth of Canadian tourism. For TIAC's detailed position on WHTI click here

Passport Coalition
TIAC continues to chair the Passport Coalition that it formed in summer 2005, and the association has worked with and is a member of other coalitions as well. The members of the Passport Coalition, which represent over 50 tourism organizations from Canada and the United States, are:

Atlantic Canada Tourism Caucus
Canadian Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Canadian Tourism Commission
Convention Centres of Canada
Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia
Frontier Duty Free Association
Hotel Association of Canada
International Hotel and Restaurant Association
Meeting Professionals International
Motor Coach Canada
National Tour Association (U.S.)
Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership
Provincial and territorial tourism industry associations
Student Youth Travel Association
Tourism British Columbia
Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Tourism Saskatchewan
Travel Alberta
Travel Manitoba
Visit Canada

U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. It includes hundreds of associations, thousands of local chambers, and more than 100 American Chambers of Commerce in 91 countries. Their core mission is to fight for business and free enterprise before Congress, the White House, regulatory agencies, the courts, the court of public opinion, and governments around the world.

For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce detailed position on Border Security and Prosperity, click here.