The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is about to issue a
rule implementing its "10 plus 2" security initiative. It is about
time. This rule describes how importers will report 10 additional
items of information on cargo shipped to the United States, while
the carrier provides two more data sets.
The information will significantly help the department identify
suspicious cargo. Not only will "10 plus 2" greatly enhance
identifying high-risk cargo, but it will largely alleviate the need
to scan 100 percent of the cargo sent to the United States. The 100
percent shipping container inspection rule was mandated by
congressional legislation in 2007. Since then both the results of
the DHS pilot project and Congress's own Government Accountability
Office (GAO) have concluded that the 100 percent mandate will be
difficult, if not impossible, to implement and could significantly
damage trade while adding minimal additional security value.
DHS should implement the "10 plus 2" rule. Meanwhile, Congress
should establish an independent commission to reevaluate the need
for 100 percent scanning of cargo containers.
Knowledge Is Real Security
There are about 20 million sea-going shipping containers in the
world that make about 200 million trips per year. In one of its
first programs to enhance transportation security after 9/11, DHS
established the Container Security Initiative (CSI). CSI evaluates
data on each container bound for the United States and determines
which might represent a potential risk that warrants further
investigation. The U.S. works with other countries to inspect the
high-risk containers before they are loaded on ships and sent to
the United States. This efficient process requires physically
scanning 2-3 percent of inbound containers. This has minimal impact
of moving global trade, adds a valuable security deterrent, and
enables DHS to focus its efforts on the most serious risks.
In January, DHS issued the Notice of Proposed Rule Making called
the Importer Security Filing (ISF) and Additional Carrier
Requirements. The ruling requires both importers and carriers to
submit the additional cargo information before the cargo is loaded
on U.S.-bound vessels. The most important additions to the "10 plus
2" reporting requirements include adding where the materials in the
container are from and which conveyer is responsible for packing
the container. These data points are invaluable for identifying
potential sources of malicious activities that might attempt to
place something harmful or dangerous in a container. Using this
data, DHS will be able to identify entities that are not known and
trusted-the most likely source of illicit activity-and target them
for inspection.
The "10 plus 2" initiative will make CSI targeting much more
effective. Combined with other programs underway by DHS and other
counterterrorism efforts, the likelihood of container shipping
representing a serious threat will be greatly diminished.
Manufacturers, shippers, and other commercial entities already
produce data on who ordered a cargo, where it was made, and to whom
it will be sent. They also provide information on anyone who paid
for, touched, or moved the goods. Using this data to better assess
the risks would represent a reasonable effort to improve what is
already being done. Combined with aggressive policing and
counterterrorism efforts, it would deter terrorists who want to
target America's ports.
Ship of Fools
In contrast to the DHS initiative, Congress mandated
establishing a program to scan every U.S.-bound container. There is
no viable case for this approach. In June, Homeland Security
officials briefed legislators on the results of the Secure Freight
Initiative (SFI) test. Congressionally mandated, the SFI test
evaluated the feasibility of scanning 100 percent of the over 11
million oceangoing containers shipped annually to the United
States. The report concluded that such a requirement would be
impractical and unwise.
Likewise, a GAO report issued that same month identified nine
major challenges to implementing 100 percent scanning. The report
pointed out that "foreign governments could call for reciprocity of
100 percent scanning, requiring the United States to scan cargo
containers, and some view this requirement as a barrier to trade."
In these troubled economic times, it makes no sense to add
unnecessary costs to the expense of buying and selling globally.
The congressional mandate would provide only minimal utility at the
cost of billions of dollars in new duties, taxes, and operating
costs.
Congress should establish an independent, bipartisan commission
to study the results of the SFI and the mandate for 100 percent
screening of shipping containers and air cargo. The commission
should assess the likely threats and look into alternatives for
securing global supply chains. The commission should report its
findings after the 2008 presidential elections. Congress could then
return to the issue in early 2009 with the politics of the election
behind it. Based on the results of the commission's
recommendations, Congress should then modify the 100 percent
mandate so that U.S. policy bolsters security and prosperity
equally well.
What Works
Whether the danger is from a nuclear warhead or a car bomb, the
most effective techniques for thwarting terrorist attacks remain
terrorist network disruption, targeted investigation and screening,
and reasonable physical security measures-not trying to inspect
everything. DHS is on the right track to do that with its container
security programs. Congress is not.
James Jay Carafano,
Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom
Davis Institute for International Studies and Senior Research
Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the Douglas
and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage
Foundation.