Trade Groups Slam Container Inspection Proposal
(The Journal of Commerce) The trade community is making clear its displeasure with a legislative proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York that would require Customs and Border Protection to manually inspect 10 percent of all imported containers. Trade groups representing importers, carriers and intermediaries on Monday night sent letters to senators urging them to oppose Schumer's amendment to the National Intelligence Reform Act. The Senate began debate on the bill Monday, but did not consider any of eight amendments that Schumer offered. The letter noted that requiring an arbitrary number of container inspections "flies in the face of risk assessment and risk targeting practices," and would require Customs to divert resources from risk management activities to front-line inspections. The groups also complained that more manual inspections will bog traffic down at ports, causing shortages and higher prices for consumers. The groups that signed the letter: the Agriculture Ocean Transportation Coalition; American Apparel & Footwear Association; Coalition of New England Companies for Trade; Columbia River Shippers Association; Joint Industry Group; National Association of Waterfront Employers; The National Industrial Transportation League; National Retail Federation; National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America; Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders; Retail Industry Leaders Association; Travel Goods Association; the Waterfront Coalition, and the World Shipping Council.
UPDATE: Senate Strikes Down Proposed Security Amendments
On October 5, 2004 the U.S. Senate eliminated more than two dozen amendments to the National Intelligence Reform Act, including proposals to increase cargo containers inspections and to remove unclaimed containers from piers. The Senate discarded several amendments sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. One amendment would have required, within two years of enactment, the physical inspection of at least 10 percent of containers that arrive in the U.S. Schumer also offered amendments to double the number of manual inspections of trucks at land borders, but without increasing the average wait time. Another Schumer amendment would have required radiation detectors on trains that pass through the 10 busiest railroad stations in the country. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg., D-N.J., had offered the amendment on the unclaimed containers. Under his proposal, containers that remained on the docks for seven days and that held cargo not entered through Customs and Border Protection through an importer would be transferred to a general order warehouse, customs examination station or public warehouse for inspection. In-bond cargo would have been exempt. The Department of Homeland Security would have been able to levy a $5,000 fine per bill of lading for infractions. The Lautenberg amendment modified the Maritime Security Act of 2004, sponsored by Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., and recently approved by the Senate. The Hollings bill would have transferred un-cleared containers to a general order warehouse or public storage after seven days, which the trade community deemed onerous. Lautenberg's amendment was the product of intensive lobbying by several major trade groups.
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