28 February 2006
Homeland Security Chief Touts Work with Standards Groups
Chertoff outlines U.S. agencies' work to ensure international codes' compliance
By David Anthony Denny
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security protects the United States in part by ensuring compliance with international transportation standards, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tells a Senate panel.
In written testimony submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee February 28, Chertoff explained the U.S. Coast Guard has worked through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help develop the International Ship and Port Security Code. The Coast Guard also works with other nations to ensure compliance with that code, he said.
The Coast Guard thus far has assessed 44 countries, through which pass 80 percent of U.S.-bound maritime trade, Chertoff said, adding that 37 of those 44 have been judged to be in substantial compliance with IMO port security standards.
The remaining seven countries, he said, either already have been or soon will be notified to take corrective steps. If they fail to do so, they risk being placed on a Port Security Advisory, and vessels arriving in the United States from their ports would have conditions of entry imposed on them. He said the Coast Guard should be able to assess 36 countries in 2006.
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
Another Homeland Security agency, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB), also has international aspects to its work. Chertoff said CBP's mission is to prevent terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States by eliminating the threats before they arrive at U.S. borders and ports.
As an example he said a CBP-administered program -- the 24-Hour Advanced Manifest Rule -- requires most ocean carriers to provide appropriate cargo description and valid consignee addresses 24 hours before U.S.-bound cargo is loaded at a foreign port. Failure to comply, he said, causes a "do not load" message to be generated, among other penalties.
Two other Customs and Border Protection programs operating internationally are the Container Security Initiative and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, both of which bolster port security, Chertoff said.
Through the former, CBP works with host government customs services to examine high-risk containerized ocean cargo at foreign ports before it is loaded onto U.S.-bound ships, he said. There are 42 foreign ports currently participating in CSI, Chertoff said, and by the end of 2006 that number should be 50, accounting for 82 percent of containerized, U.S.-bound ocean cargo.
Another tool of Customs and Border Protection is its National Targeting Center, which "provides tactical targeting and analytical research support for CBP antiterrorism efforts," Chertoff said. The center uses a rule-based system to identify high-risk cargo and passengers coming to the United States by air, sea, rail and truck, he said.
The center provides tactical targeting and research support for Container Security Initiative personnel around the world, and helps ensure that "all cargo determined to be of high risk are examined," he said. All cruise ship passengers and crew also undergo a risk assessment before arrival in the United States, he added.
For more information about U.S. policy, see International Security.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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