Congress Will Pass Legislation to Require 100% Screening of Cargo In U.S. Bound Ships

The vision of a nuclear bomb hidden in a cargo container which could detonate in an American port has prompted Congress to require 100 percent screening of U.S.-bound ships at their more than 600 foreign starting points.^[1]

However the Bush administration and shippers maintain the technology for scanning 11 million containers each year does not exist and say the requirement could disrupt trade, additionally the current procedures, which include manifest inspections at foreign ports and radiation monitoring in U.S. ports are working well.^[2]

Scanning containers at their points of origin is a highlight of the new law which is intended to finally fulfill the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, which stated that the shift would be a major step in the future protection of the United States from terrorists.^[3] The new law sets a five-year deadline for having the system in place but, recognizing the technology still might not be available, gives the Homeland Security secretary the authority to extend the deadline by two-year increments.^[4]

The White House issued a statement strongly opposing the scanning requirement, saying it was "neither executable nor feasible,” and warned that it could cause huge backlogs at the nation's seaports, which handle some 95 percent of goods coming into the country.^[5]

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says "it would be wonderful" if all containers were inspected before they left foreign ports, "but it's got to be done in a way that reflects reality and also reflects the fact that we're not the only players in this pool."^[6]

The Bush administration argues that its current risk-based, layered approach to port security is a complete success, however despite his initial objection; President George W. Bush signed the measure into law this month.^[7] He managed to praise its transfer of domestic money to states and cities at higher risk of terrorism attack; he also made assertions that he will work with lawmakers to ensure the cargo screening provisions do not impede the flow of commerce.^[8]

Homeland Security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office plans to award up to $1.2 billion over the next five years to develop and acquire a next generation radiation monitor for land and sea cargo known as Advanced Spectroscopic Portals.^[9] Policymakers have questioned whether the new technology will offer much improvement over current monitors that are prone to false alarms set off by naturally occurring radioactive material in medical isotopes, ceramics or kitty litter.^[10]

In anticipation of the new security measures the Congressional Budget Office quoted a figure of $1.5 billion over three years as the cost to acquire and set up the scanning and detection equipment.^[11] However not all of the money will come from the U.S., the CBO said it expected most of the costs to be borne by foreign ports in order to maintain trade with the United States; the U.S. could provide financing for smaller countries.^[12]

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^[1] AP Staff, To thwart nuclear terror, US directs trade partners to inspect 11 million cargo containers, Associated Press Newswire, August 23, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services File.
^[2] Id.
^[3] National Comm'n on Terrorist Attacks upon the U.S., The Final 9/11 Commission Report 374 (2004), available at http://pdfhacks.com/911Report/911Report.pdf#page=391 (last visited Apr. 1, 2007).
^[4] AP Staff, supra note 1.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.
^[10] Id.
^[11] Id.
^[12] Id.