Trade Corridors Flow Like a River

Once a free trade agreement is signed, the focus moves quickly from policy issues to issues of action and practice. That's what's happening with the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by all three countries and recently ratified by Canada.

Even though NAFTA awaits ratification by the U.S. Senate, real problems of trade and commerce are now center stage. Examples: Trade among the three nations of North America is already strained by overcrowded ports of entry, over-used trade routes, transport of hazardous materials along the border, inadequate use of existing "smart car-smart highway" technology that could speed custom clearances, and serious institutional problems -- such as incompatible trucking and insurance regulations.

That's a major reason Western border state Senators such as Max Baucus, D-Mont., Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M. were leaders of a congressional initiative to examine more closely the north-south trade corridors and border crossings that link the three economies. The study of the eastern U.S. is being conducted by Boston