WASHINGTON — The Democrats and Nancy Pelosi have not even taken control of the House yet and already they’ve upset retailers and apparel importers.
In outlining her party’s agenda for its first 100 hours in office, House Speaker-elect Pelosi said she would bring to a vote early legislation requiring 100 percent screening of all cargo containers at foreign ports. This measure is aimed at stepping up the U.S. fight against terrorism.
This prompted an immediate outcry from retailers and apparel vendors that imported $89.2 billion worth of apparel and textiles into the country last year, claiming it could cripple international commerce at a time when just-to-the-minute deliveries at retail are increasingly common. Even the slightest delay in clearing Customs in a foreign port could interrupt a retailer’s or vendor’s entire supply chain.
The Democrats had suggested such a measure earlier, but after intensive lobbying by the industry against the proposal, it was scaled back.
“We don’t object to the objective of moving toward 100 percent screening, but that can’t be done overnight,” said Erik Autor, vice president and international trade counsel at the National Retail Federation. “It has got to be done in a measured way that allows time to get the system and procedures in place. If you mandate 100 percent screening prematurely, all it is going to do is have an adverse impact on our commerce and our economy.”
The importers said that while they wanted to get off on the right foot with the new House speaker, their concerns about 100 percent screening outweighed efforts to build a cooperative relationship.
“To be honest, this is too important,” said Julia Hughes, senior vice president at the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel. “We want to work with Speaker Pelosi and we look forward to that, but when we talk about this issue, the impact is too broad to say we are going to hold back.”
“I’m of the belief that every container that gets shipped to this country is not a terrorist threat,” said Allen Thompson, vice president for supply chain security for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which counts Wal-Mart among its members. “The challenge is figuring out which ones pose a threat and which ones don’t.”
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Thompson added, “At the end of the day, when you get down to it, this is about risk management and how to ensure safely that legitimate cargo is allowed to come to this country while dangerous cargo is checked. That balance has to be maintained.”
Pelosi said the first order of business for the House after it passed a rules package would be to pass the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
“We will do them one better on port security, where we have even tougher proposals to screen 100 percent of the containers long before they reach U.S. shores,” Pelosi said at a news conference announcing her agenda for the congressional session that begins Jan. 4.
Democrats, who sought to make port security an election-year issue, failed in their efforts this year to include such a strong measure in legislation that Congress passed and President Bush signed this fall. They argued that the estimated 5 percent scanning rate of more than 11 million containers entering the country annually was dangerously low. Republicans resisted full inspection at foreign ports, maintaining it was not practical.
The issue of port security was in the spotlight all year as the aborted Dubai Ports World deal triggered a national debate and generated broader port security initiatives that preoccupied Capitol Hill through the summer and fall. Dubai Ports World, owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, sought to operate terminals in six major U.S. ports, but abandoned its efforts and ultimately sold its properties.
The controversy this spring highlighted the vulnerability of ports to terrorist attacks and set off a flurry of legislative proposals addressing the possibility of a radioactive bomb or weapon of mass destruction being smuggled into the U.S. in a cargo container.
The House and Senate passed the final bill in October, providing billions of dollars in funding to strengthen the nation’s defenses against a potential terrorist attack on cargo containers entering the U.S. or at major ports at home and abroad.
The legislation provides money for a pilot program at three foreign ports to test and establish a screening system for radiation within one year and also requires the 22 major U.S. ports to establish procedures and technology to examine all containers for radiation by the end of next year.
Retailers and wholesalers were largely supportive of the October bill, but launched a lobbying campaign against attempts by Democrats to require 100 percent screening in foreign ports of all inbound U.S. cargo containers, arguing technologies need to undergo more testing and fine-tuning before such a goal could be set.
Pelosi’s comments on Thursday renewed their concerns after they thought they had put the issue to rest.