Op-Ed: Closed Borders Do Not Open Markets

The world is a different place since Sept. 11, 2001, and America has rightly stepped up homeland security measures. Unfortunately, the government's current suspicion of international travelers has created a very serious conflict between security and the values that we, as Americans, seek to protect. The nation that is among the greatest supporters of free trade and an open market economy throughout the world now is ironically creating numerous restrictions for travelers seeking to enter our country and do business with us.

As president of the National Business Travel Association, representing more than 1,400 corporate travel managers and their 6 million frequent business travelers, I am extremely concerned about the new visa and passport requirements on international travel to the United States.

As of Aug. 1, nearly all individuals seeking non-immigrant visas to our country can apply for one only through a face-to-face interview at a U.S. consulate. Also, our government is soon going to require that citizens of the 27 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, some of our best and most trusted partners, possess machine-readable passports in order to enter the United States. In response to efforts by NBTA and other industry leaders, the U.S. Department of State has recently decided to allow these countries to petition for a one-year extension. However, if a country does not apply for the extension by Oct. 1, travelers from that country who do not have the required type of passport will have to obtain a visa through a cumbersome application process.

This policy will profoundly impact many of NBTA's members who work for multinational corporations with employees based all over the world. A recent survey showed that nearly 50 percent of NBTA travel manager members are responsible for global travel programs. The requirements for machine- readable passports and visa interviews at a U.S. consulate will hinder the business of companies with employees worldwide. For some people, the nearest consulate could well be a day trip away or in another country!

Despite the government's recent decision to grant extensions, in the future the new policy will lead to increased delays that will keep corporations from conducting commerce. According to preliminary results of a recent NBTA survey of travel managers outside of the United States, nearly 50 percent said the new policy, while necessary for security purposes, would present inconveniences to their business. This policy will discourage multinational corporations from coming to our country to do business. Both travel buyers and suppliers should rally together to oppose these regulations, which could cause yet another round of declining business travel.

Compared with 2000, the number of overseas business arrivals to the United States in 2002 fell more than 30 percent, from 7.8 million to 5.3 million. Why should this bother us? Each foreign traveler that we turn away means lost revenue for the businesses in our country. And we all know too well that lost revenue often means lost jobs.

But besides the immediate economic impact, there are other, political reasons why we should be concerned about the new requirements.

Last year, NBTA became a founding member of the Paragon Partnership, a global alliance of business travel associations, supporting efficient international business travel. Our partners have recently shared with me their concerns about the unrealistic requirements and deadlines introduced by the U.S. government without even consulting the international community.

To impose requirements of this type without giving consideration to other countries' data privacy and security laws is the kind of action that makes the rest of the world perceive America as a bully. The terms "ugly American" and "Fortress America" would be repeated throughout the world if we continue to drive policies and standards without any collaborative gestures of inclusion.

Many of our members with global responsibilities have told me that you cannot manage a successful program by driving compliance and policy by U.S. mandates. You have to take time to listen and learn from your international partners, then work together to form collaborative solutions. This takes time, diplomacy and flexibility. If our government chooses to ignore these principles, we face the risk of prompting other governments to follow suit and introduce their own restrictions. And such a trend would be detrimental to open global commerce.

I urge our government to put forth visa and passport policies that are fair and in the best interests of all parties involved. We must ensure that implementation is delayed until other countries' concerns are considered and until there are sufficient resources to meet the increased volume of visa and passport procedures. Gradual implementation phased in by country and security risk might prevent potential disruption in global commerce and travel to the United States.

And if we can display such diplomacy, maybe we would not be perceived as a nation trying to build an open global economy from behind the walls of its own fortress.

Carol Devine is manager of corporate travel for Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway and president of the national Business Travel Association.