COAC committee calls for repeal of 100pc cargo screening

THE US Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection has called for repeal of laws requiring 100 per cent scanning of ocean freight and 100 per cent screening of air cargo.

The group, made up of representatives of the trade and transportation sector, said the Department of Homeland Security should shift its supply chain security focus to place more emphasis on air and land transportation security and ensure that minimum security criteria for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and similar programmes adapt to changing threats in the supply chain, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce.

The recommendations were included in comments to the DHS policy branch, which is drafting a new national strategy for global supply chain security.

Earl Agron, director of security for APL and head of the COAC committee that drafted the report, said that the 100 per cent requirements laid down by congress in 2007 "should be re-evaluated in favour of risk based measures that target high risk shipments".

"The 100 per cent question is a perpetual splinter in our finger, a royal pain, especially when we are in front of our global trading partners or any other international forum," said Mr Agron.
(Source:www.schednet.com)