Good day everyone!  I'm Jeff Marquis at the business desk and today I'd like to make a brief comment on the passport issue. 

Within the next few months Americans are going to be bombarded by our government and by the media with the new passport regulations that are coming into existence early in the new year.  Come mid January 2007 many persons from those so-called friendly countries will now have to produce their passports when coming into the United States.  Among these countries are Mexico, Canada, and several European and Caribbean countries.  In addition, within the next while all Americans travelling to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean will also need to have a passport when leaving the United States.

I know:  All of these new passport regulations are in the name of beefed up security on our country's part but many of us are wondering out loud how it is going to affect the way Americans travel and do business.  There are indeed millions of Americans who do not have a passport because till now they have not had the cause to obtain one.  They have been able to travel freely to other countries without much difficulty and in total freedom.  With these new passport regulations, you can be sure that great traffic snarls are going to start occurring on a daily basis at our borders. 

If Canadians and Mexicans are now going to need legitimate passports in order to enter our country, and if Americans are now going to need passports to travel abroad, are we going to see a trend where more and more tourists and business persons are going to think twice before coming to our shores?  Or are we going to start seeing more and more Americans choosing to stay at home on their vacation break rather than going through the hassle of obtaining passports?

Will these new passport regulations mean longer lines at airports and border crossings? 

Will these new regulations signal a new era of isolationism for the United States whereby those countries affected by these new passport rules would now choose to turn to each other for trade, commerce, and tourism rather than coming to the United States?

It's a very difficult balancing act for our government to follow and I don't believe that there's any right or wrong.  No, there's no black or white here.  In order to protect ourselves we have to do something to keep out dangerous persons but in doing so we are now curtailing travel for both Americans as well as for foreigners. 

This may have an impact on you personally re how you conduct your business beyond our borders and it may also cause you to think of where you're going to spend your next vacation.

Have a pleasant evening.

Contact us to learn more.