US security plans for containers
President George Bush has signed into law a bill requiring the blanket screening of all containers entering the US by 2012.
The law is set to proceed despite the lack of results from pilot projects and a concern by many
trade bodies that the task is impractical or indeed impossible. In the meantime Brussels has sent a
second strongly worded protest to the US which is echoed by all sections of the Maritime Industry.
László Kovács, European Commissioner responsible for the customs union said “experts on both
sides of the Atlantic have already considered this measure to be of no real benefit when it comes
to improving security, while it would disrupt trade and cost legitimate EU and US business a lot of
time and money”. The law will require a major restructuring of European ports, incurring high costs
which would ultimately be born by European Union taxpayers. Canada’s shippers have joined the
mounting international criticism. Bob Ballantyne, president of the Canadian Industrial
Transportation Association said “This looks distinctly like a barrier to trade and must raise
questions as to whether it breaches the rules of the World Trade Organisation”.
The Global Shippers Forum spokesman observed that “the blanket screening will result in
enormous costs without accomplishing the very objectives that the scan-all requirements are seeking
to achieve.”
September 2007