In the fictional Selwick Corridor, negotiators have shifted attention from tariff cuts to the time freight spends awaiting inspection. A demonstration involving 6 border posts reduces the median administrative wait from 19 hours to 11 hours. The exercise assumes unchanged safety standards and staffing, isolating the potential benefit of accepting a common digital manifest before trucks arrive.

The distribution of those gains remains contentious. Large carriers can integrate directly with customs software, while smaller operators may need intermediaries. The proposed agreement reserves $18 million for shared filing centres and requires a paper fallback. Its central diplomatic bargain is mutual recognition of routine checks, not the removal of inspection powers: a narrower ambition, but potentially a more durable one.