Sequestration-Border Budget Cuts Not Expected to Take Immediate Effect

(March 1, 2013) -- Today at 12 pm EST massive budget cuts in the U.S. – known as sequestration – were scheduled to become official. This does not mean the budget cuts take immediate effect. The Office of Management and Budget must still send to Congress a detailed accounting of the cuts – how much from which agencies and which accounts. CTA has been informed by sources at various ports that the cuts won’t kick-in for at least 30 days due to labour negotiations with federal workers. In fact, President Obama told media today that the cuts are “not a cliff, but it is a tumble downward.”

Although not official, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on February 14th  stated that Customs and Border Protection would be facing more than half a billion dollars in cuts, and as a consequence CBP would not be able to maintain current staffing levels of border patrol agents and CBP officers as mandated by Congress. Sequestration would force CBP to immediately begin furloughs of its employees, reduce overtime for frontline operations, and decrease its hiring to backfill positions. Specifically, beginning April 1, CBP would have to reduce its work hours by the equivalent of over 5,000 Border Patrol agents and the equivalent of over 2,750 CBP officers.

As CTA reported in its news release February 27, 2013 the Canadian trucking industry could be sideswiped as sequestration would severely impact border operations in the form of significant border delays.

The question remains, though, when will the cuts actually be felt by industry, where, and to what degree? What we do know is that border officers probably won’t suddenly vanish over the next few days, but whether ports remain fully operational during the entire month of March remains a question. CTA and the provincial trucking associations will be working with local ports to monitor the situation. CTA and the provincial associations will distribute updates to member carriers as we learn them and encourage the carrier community to contact their local association and CTA if there are extensive delays at the various border crossings.