Today – The Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce announces its support for the construction of the New International Trade Crossing based on approved legislative priorities to continue to advocate for infrastructure funding to meet the demands of the growing West Michigan region, support for the development of an integrated, intermodal, long-term transportation infrastructure strategy, support for a 21st Century border with Canada and improved access to Michigan ports.
Sixty percent of all Michigan trade – $44 billion a year – is with Canada, and over 3,300 jobs in Muskegon County are tied to trade with Canada and a significant number of West Michigan companies do business with Canada every day.
“As one of the state’s few commercial port cities, we understand the importance of multimodal transportation for economic development,” stated Cindy Larsen, President of the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce. “The more ability we have to move products and people throughout Michigan, the more commerce will take place, ultimately resulting in job creation. These are exciting times for Muskegon as we see resurgence in our manufacturing and tourism sectors. An additional bridge to Canada will enhance both of these sectors and allow us to better prosper in the new economy.”
The United States and Canada share the largest trading relationship of any two countries in the world. With the growing trade volumes, combined with aging infrastructure, it is no surprise that along the 4,000-mile border, no single area is more significant to trade than the Southeast Michigan/Southwest Ontario border crossings. Experts believe that if no improvements are made to border crossing capabilities in the Detroit River area by 2030, the two nations will see losses of up to 80,000 U.S. jobs, 70,000 Canadian jobs and combined annual production losses of $32 billion since 2001, the threat of terrorism has meant concerns about infrastructure redundancy and broad policy shifts affecting the border.
To read more about this proposed bridge and the Chamber’s support for it. Click here.
