Cargo scan plan a ‘simpleton’s approach’
19th November 2007 by Sarah Whitworth
The former head of United States customs says his government’s plans to implement scanning of all air and sea cargo destined for the US is a “simpleton’s approach” to supply chain security, a recent article reports.
Robert Bonner, a member of the Unisys Security Advisory Panel and former commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection at the time of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, said the law, if implemented, would create significant logistical problems, given that up to 600 ports export to the US.
In August, President George W Bush signed into law legislation that would require all foreign shipping containers destined for the US to be scanned with imaging and radiation detection equipment, for components of nuclear weapons, at ports of origin, including New Zealand. This would come into effect within five years.
Scanning of all air cargo would be phased in over three years.