EU officials ridicule 100% scan-all law

EU officials ridicule 100% scan-all law On the eve of an important meeting next week to enhance transatlantic economic integration, European Union officials blasted Congress for requiring 100 percent scanning of ocean containers in foreign ports as the type of unilateral approach that runs counter to forging international partnerships against terrorism.
   The legislation passed in August would require within five years radiation detection and imaging machines to automatically inspect all containers before vessel loading.
   Mandating security measures that shift the implementation burden to other countries “is a significant departure” from the principles of good international relations, SAID John Bruton, the EU ambassador to the United States, during a conference organized in Washington by the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue and the Federation of German Industries.
   Particularly galling, Bruton said, is that the United States is not prepared to take the same medicine and inspect its outbound cargo for terrorist weapons to protect other countries.
   “A lack of reciprocity is a fundamental breach of the normal (way) international agreements are founded,” he said.
   Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Robert Verrue, EU director general of taxation and customs, said the European Commission would not consider demanding the United States reciprocate with inspections of export containers at U.S. ports because it believes it’s a bad idea. But it’s not clear how the move will resonate with European parliamentarians, who could try to force some response, he said.
   “When you launch such novelties it’s like smoking in a gasoline station. It doesn’t always explode, but when it does it can lead to great damage,” Verrue said.
   The U.S. decision is also upsetting because the Department of Homeland Security is conducting several overseas pilot projects to study whether scanning all containers moving through a port is technically feasible and can be done without disrupting cargo flows.
   “What’s the point of having a test if you’re going to make it mandatory anyway?” Bruton said.
   And then he suggested the scanning law could resemble the emperor with no clothes.
   “I assume Congress put in place resources so you have 100 percent screening” of the 100 percent scanned images “we’re collecting at our cost.
   “If it doesn’t, then it’s a fraud,” he said.
   The scan-all law provides flexibility to the DHS secretary to seek waivers to postpone the requirement in two-year increments under certain circumstances, such as if the technology is sub par or unavailable in commercial quantities, or if port layouts present installation difficulties.
   But the EU officials suggested that they need to know about possible waivers as soon as possible because countries need to begin making big investments in technology, truck parking lots and staff to meet the deadlines.
   They made it clear they hope to produce evidence from the pilot projects and other sources that will show comprehensive scanning is not good for security or the economy, and convince Congress to roll back its requirement.
   Lawmakers should have achieved a full understanding of the measure’s effect on business before approving it, but now the situation requires a “reverse impact assessment,” said Verrue, who added he’s not optimistic that the potential reaction to the new information will change anything.
   “It’s a second or third-best solution” compared to the current regime of risk-based analysis to selectively target inspections, Verrue said. “Hopefully, we will achieve a more reasonable outcome.”
   Even if the technology can be implemented, the business community would be burdened with huge processing costs and supply chain uncertainties that would cause even more expense in terms of manufacturing production delays, said Hubertus Erlen, vice chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer Schering Parma AG.
   The conference was held to preview issues to be discussed at the first working session of the Transatlantic Economic Council next week at which officials will work on advancing a set of key economic priorities, including trade facilitation.
   Christopher Padilla, acting under secretary for international trade at the Department of Commerce, called Bruton’s comments “unfortunate” in light of the upcoming meeting. ' Eric Kulisch