US Customs, TSA, sidestep 100pc screening to profile air cargo instead
2012 03 28
- Details
US AIR CARGO security agencies appear to be abandoning the 100 per cent air cargo screening mandated by congress with the introduction of their freight profiling Air Cargo Advance Screening programme, a Miami air freight conference was told.
"Eventually, our goal is across-the-board risk-based analysis of shippers and every shipment entering the United States by air," said US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John Pistole.
To do this, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are moving forward with their joint pilot programme, Mr Pistole told AirCargo 2012 delegates.
Mr Pistole said he believes the ability to provide shipment-level data prior to takeoff will help the air freight industry mitigate risk indicating a move towards a reliable-shipper policy rather than the 100 per cent screening approach.
Mr Pistole told delegates he sees a "paradigm shift" in how the US approaches air freight security, thanks to technological improvements and new insights into cargo screening, reported Roswell, Georgia's Air Cargo News.
A three-phased, voluntary initiative, this programme will allow parties to submit electronic data before shipment, thus identifying high-risk freight, according to a TSA statement.
"The more intelligence that we can have on the front end, the better informed judgments we can make as to distinguish between known shippers and shipments by those who are unknown," Mr Pistole told conference attendees. "If we can make decisions on the front end [about a particular parcel], then we can do a better job of working together."
Acting deputy customs commissioner Tom Winkowski described the pilot programme as a "game-changer", admitting customs had downplayed the role of freight forwarders in cargo screening in the past.
Said Mr Winkowski: "The old model's out, and the new model's in. We had better create a roadmap before someone creates it for us."
US Airforwarders Association executive director Brandon Fried said that "analysing shipment data before departure provides an opportunity to pinpoint those shipments that may be the most threatening".
Writing in Air Cargo World earlier, Mr Fried said it was important to keep programme data consistent with the World Customs Organisation's Data Model and urged the federal agencies to invite shippers into future discussions.
"The air forwarders association further urges CBP to recognise that many air freight forwarders deliver efficient and flexible shipping solutions through vast international agent networks," said Mr Fried. "While these agents provide excellent support through their local knowledge and expertise, they may not share the same electronic platforms of their US forwarder customers."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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