Cross-Border Summit Hits On International Trade, Cargo Visibility, USMCA

Borderless Coverage is hosting its second annual "Modernization of Cross-Border Trade" event, discussing everything from the current state of cross-border trucking to the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Mark Vickers, chief executive officer of Borderless Coverage, recently shared with the FreightWavesTV show "What the Truck?!?" how the conference brings together diverse elements of the cross-border community to find shipping solutions.

Mark Vickers, CEO of Borderless Coverage

"We look at the top cross-border trucking companies, Mexican carriers, border drayage companies, border warehouses – kind of all products that support cross-border trade – have them all come together to force positive change in [cross-border trade]," Vickers said.

Last year, the conference was held in Laredo, Texas, and was attended by hundreds of brokers, carriers, and international trade representatives. The conference is also an official Laredo Motor Carriers Association's event once again.

"Last year's event was a blast, it was hosted in Laredo, with a lot of cross-border leaders," Vickers said. "Because of COVID-19, we are forced to do this year's event virtually."

Cargocast is the sponsor for this year's free, online "Modernization of Cross-Border Trade" event at 3 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, May 28. Atlanta-based Cargocast helps freight forwarders, airlines, and ground handlers automate operations and improve visibility.

The keynote speaker for the conference will be Kenneth Smith Ramos, a former chief negotiator for the Mexican government on the USMCA.

The USMCA goes into effect on July 1, and Smith Ramos will be discussing what brokers, carriers, and anyone interested in international trade needs to know about USMCA.

"We get to hear about the USMCA from Kenneth, who helped negotiate the deal," Vickers said. "Cross-border companies can learn how to capitalize on the USMCA, rather than just become compliant."

Other speakers for the "Modernization of Cross-Border Trade" event include:

• Vickers discussing the current state of cross-border trucking and how brokers, carriers, and shippers can obtain Mexican cargo insurance on a per load basis.
• Dan Diephouse, chief executive officer of Cargocast, will talk about the importance of inventory tracking in a distribution-intensive environment like Laredo; and will provide a live demo of Cargocast's real-time radio frequency identification (RFID) technology solution, "Digital Cargo."
• Fernando Mayer de Leeuw, the former director-general of international trade in services and investment from the Mexican Embassy. Mayer de Leeuw will discuss how USMCA will impact cross-border trucking and what operators can do to capitalize.

Vickers founded Borderless Coverage in 2018. The company provides cross-border consulting services and cross-border cargo insurance to a wide range of businesses in the North American shipping industry.

Mexico is now the number one trading partner of the United States. A total of $147.78 billion in trade was conducted between the two companies through the first three months of 2020, according to a WorldCity analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

Vickers said trade between the U.S. and Mexico will continue to grow in the coming years.

"There are a variety of factors for the increase: one is the U.S.-China trade war; a second factor is COVID-19; and the third is the USMCA being implemented on July 1," Vickers said. "There's a lot of near-shoring going on; manufacturing in Mexico is really hot and that equates to U.S.-Mexico trade being more important than ever."

Register for free here for the Modernization of Cross-Border Trade event.