US Bill Retains Clause To Scan All Boxes At Port Of Origin

by Lloyd's List - last modified Jun 12, 2012 12:47 PM

A US statutory requirement to scan all incoming containers at foreign ports will take effect at the beginning of next month. That date was thrown into sharp relief as the US House of Representatives’ homeland security committee approved a revamped Bill that retains the clause.

Since 2006 shippers, spearheaded by associations that include the National Retail Federation, have been campaigning to get the requirement eliminated on the grounds that it is impractical and costly and could trigger foreign government retaliation against cargoes originating from the US.
But the 100% scanning requirement has proved its resilience yet again.

US homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano has pointed out the impracticality of the law and proposed a two-year postponement.

These calls went unheeded in the house, as the homeland security committee last Wednesday approved the Securing Maritime Activities through Risk-based Targeting for Port Security Act, known as the Smart Port Security Act.

The draft Bill gave the industry minor cause for cheer for unrelated reasons, as it will postpone the requirement for workers to renew their transportation worker identification cards in the absence of Department of Homeland Security regulations on biometric card readers.

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