U.S. Chamber to House: No 100% inspections, please

U.S. Chamber to House: No 100% inspections, please

U.S. businesses are lining up again against congressional efforts to pass legislation requiring 100-percent scanning of maritime and air cargo.

   On Monday, the Retail Leaders Industry Association sent a letter to all members of the House against the proposal. Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to the House that it opposed provisions in H.R. 1, a bill designed to implement the Sept. 11 Commission recommendations on combating the threat of terrorism, that would require all maritime containers and cargo on passenger planes to be X-rayed.

   The Chamber noted that requiring all ocean containers to be scanned overseas would slow down the flow of trade and potentially lead other countries to make the same demands on the U.S. government, which would impact U.S. exports.

   RILA and the U.S. Chamber urged Congress to wait until the results are in later this year from several Department of Homeland Security pilot projects that will run containers through detection equipment at foreign ports.

   'The Chamber strongly opposes provisions requiring 100 percent cargo inspection on passenger planes within three years. Such a mandate could significantly disrupt businesses that rely on passenger planes for the delivery of cargo for just-in-time manufacturing, emergency medicine, and highly perishable goods,' the Chamber added.