Transportation Security

AuthorInternational Law Group

On November 11, 2004, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) agreed on the first measures to improve the security of maritime container transport. They are based on the EU-U.S. Customs Agreement which the parties had signed on April 22, 2004, and broaden the 1997 Agreement on Customs Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. See O.J. of European Union (L 304) 32, 30 Sept. 2004. See also 2004 International Law Update 158.

The Customs Agreement seeks to improve security for both parties by ensuring (1) that customs procedures and legitimate trade take security concerns into account, and (2) that equal standards apply to both U.S. and EU transport companies. A Working Group is detailing the necessary operational elements of expanded cooperation, such as the minimum standards for the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and common risk criteria.

The CSI is a program of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It aims to increase the security of containers that foreign entities are shipping to the U.S. by identifying high-risk shipments through information exchange and detection technology. See website of CSI at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/enforcement/international_activities/csi. The EC-US Joint Customs Co-operation Committee has recently approved the Working Group's proposals. These include, inter alia, the creation of an information exchange network, the setting of...

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