Commerical truck drivers from Canada have been fined, detained for hours and threatened with confiscation of their U.S.-issued identity cards for bringing undeclared lunch meat into the U.S.
It's one example of how over-zealous border security is becoming a serious hurdle to business. About 100,000 fewer trucks crossed the border during the first nine months of 2006 than during last year and various border delays add up to additional costs of up to C$600 million, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance.
It seems that the confiscation of an sticker-less apple at the Blaine border crossing wasn't an isolated incident.