EOW May 2007

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EuroWire – May 2007 56
Transat lant ic Cable
The rate for blacks, 7.9%, and the rate
for whites, 4.0%, each fell by a tenth of a
percentage point.
In a separate report on 9th March,
the Commerce Department said that
the nation’s trade deficit – the difference
between what Americans export
and import – narrowed in January, to
$59.1 billion from a revised $61.5 billion
deficit in December.
The change may seem negligible, but
every dollar shaved off the stubbornly
impacted deficit is greeted with joy in
Washington.
In brief . . .
New high-security drivers’ licences
issued by the Canadian province
of Ontario will include the latest
safeguards against tampering and
identity theft.
The Ontario government will spend
between $10 million and $12 million
a year for 10 years on the new
licences, which are to feature two
photographs of the driver and laser-
engraved signature. But they will not
contain citizenship or other personal
information until the US agrees to
allow them to be used in lieu of
passports at border crossings.
Since January, the US has required
every air traveller to the country to
have a valid passport. The White
House wants to extend the same rule
to land crossings by January 2008.
According to the Toronto Star , Ontario
is optimistic that the US will decide to
consider the greatly enhanced licence
an alternative to a passport.
On 10th March, transportation re-
porter Tess Kalinowski wrote that,
just the day before, British Columbia’s
minister for intergovernmental rela-
tions was in Washington, DC ‘trying
to persuade US officials of the
merits of a scheme to synchronise
drivers’ licences in his province and
Washington State,’ to ease border
crossings for the sake of both
Canadians and Americans.
Open-skies treaty
Pact between the EU and
the US promises more com-
petition and higher capacity on
lucrative transatlantic routes
On 2nd March, the European Union and
the United States reached a preliminary
agreement to eliminate almost all
restrictions on air routes between the
two areas.
Europe’s transport commissioner, Jacques
Barrot, announced ‘decisive progress’
in talks with US negotiators in Brussels
toward concluding a hard-fought push
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