WASHINGTON — The U.S. and European Union have settled their dispute over cargo security.
The dustup came about last year when the EU criticized the U.S. for its Container Security Initiative, put in place in reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The EU said the CSI, which involves prescreening of goods and advanced filing of manifests, targets large ports at the expense of smaller ones unable to qualify for special security status under the program.
In an agreement outlined in Washington on Tuesday, the two sides set mutual security standards for all European ports to qualify as CSI ports and that involve sharing ocean carrier cargo manifests and best practices for securing international commerce. A pilot project was also created to monitor cargo that is transited through the U.S. and EU en route to other destinations. Europe now has 20 CSI ports, up from eight in April.
In addition, the pact calls for the two trade powers to share more information and increase overall cooperation in monitoring freight containers destined for either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Cargo arriving in the U.S. from ports without a CSI designation are scrutinized more and are more likely to be detained, increasing importer costs and threatening merchandise shortages. In April, the U.S. and the EU decided to negotiate their differences over CSI, resulting in the pact. The U.S. and EU, which now includes 25 countries, had $665 billion in two-way trade last year.
Sam Banks, a consultant on Customs issues who worked for the agency for 28 years, said, “The worst thing that could happen to any industry is to have a bunch of different standards and criteria to meet. With lack of standardization, you increase costs to move product and that creates uncertainty.”
The U.S. and EU will also study whether uniformity between them can be brought to their industry cargo security programs in which U.S. apparel importers participate. If an importer secures supply chains using C-TPAT guidelines, then its cargo receives less scrutiny upon arriving in the U.S.