The Canadian government formally asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to drop its plan to charge Canadian truckers a new fee for crossing the border into the States.

Today's Truckingreports the USDA will charge truckers $5.25 per crossing, or $105 per year, to pay for a new operation that would focus on the safety of agricultural products that are being imported.

However, Canadians have a problem with requiring all Canadian truckers to pay the fee, regardless of what they are hauling.

The Canadian government says, in addition to the cost and the log jams the inspections could create at border crossings, the plan may also violate NAFTA.

- By Reed Black, staff writer
reed_black@landlinemag.com