Originally Posted by
akdancer
Thanks for checking this. I didn't mean that the CBP fees were directly connect to pre-clearance. Whether you clear abroad or at US arrival, you pay the same. What interested me was that the CBP fee, around $38 all-in, was fairly high IMO. I hadn't checked it in years. And the departure fees at NAU, as you list them, certainly give the airport enough revenue that they could pay some of the CBP pre-clearance operation. "Tax the traveler" is a commonly-found practice.
The high US CBP fees are why Canadian travellers heading to the USA, drive across the border (free) and fly from BLI/BUF/BTV etc
As for pre-clearance facilities, the departing airport has to pay for it. For example AIF(PFC) for Vancouver departures to the USA includes an extra $5 to cover the cost of the US pre-clearance facility; it's really quite the insult for Vancouver to have to pay for a US facility because the US airports are woefully in-equipped to handle international flights.