Prairie Public Broadcasting

Border Business ANN ARBOR (Michigan Radio) -


New border ID requirements which start tomorrow will mean a driver's license will no longer be enough to enter the United States from Canada.

Some border business owners fear they may lose out.

Businesses in Port Huron expected to see a jump last year in Canadian customers crossing the Blue Water Bridge to spend their loonies on cheaper American goods. But Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce president Vicky Ludsworth says that didn't happen. She blames it on all the talk about the need for passports to enter the US, along with longer waits in customs.

"This of course all translates down to the business community in seeing less business, at a time when we should be seeing more business because of the currency," says Ludsworth.

The head of Windsor's Chamber of Commerce expects the new passport requirement will be a bigger problem for daytrippers than for those planning longer stays across the border. Adding to the confusion, Homeland Security officials will allow people to enter the U.S. without a passport for an unspecified time, to give people a chance to get used to the new requirement. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio