U.S., Europe, Canada Move to Ease Security Screening for Airline Cargo

Under the agreements, effective June 1, TSA and those countries will mutually recognize their respective air cargo security regimes. As a result, private industry can move cargo though the 27 EU member countries, the U.S., Canada and Switzerland, while following a single set of security rules. Through TSA's National Cargo Security Program (NCSP) recognition process, the agency analyzes the air cargo programs of its international counterparts, and determines if they are comparable to what is required in the U.S. Additionally, harmonized air cargo screening allows industry to follow a single program when transporting cargo between nations.

Canada and the U.S. said they agreed to the mutual recognition of, and cooperation on, air cargo security in both countries. That means cargo shipped on passenger aircraft will now be screened only once for transportation security reasons, at the point of origin and will not need to be rescreened prior to upload on an aircraft in the other country, reducing delays and economic costs caused by both countries screening the same cargo twice, they said May 31. "The mutual recognition of air cargo security programs is just one of the first initiatives in the Beyond the Border Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama," said James Nealon, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy, speaking on behalf of the TSA at the Canadian announcement.

Canada and the U.S. also are working together to strengthen co-ordination, co-operation and timely decision-making at the border for cargo shipped by sea or land with a view to increasing two-way trade, and reducing travel and commercial disruptions. When the Action Plan is fully implemented, the principle of "screened once, accepted twice" is intended to apply to all modes of shipping cargo.

Under the new mutual recognition initiative, cargo shipped on passenger aircraft will be screened at the point of origin and won't need to be rescreened at the border or prior to upload in the other country. Because of the differences in shipments on passenger aircraft, air cargo in Canada is screened using several methods including physical inspection, canine check, explosive trace detection or x-ray scanning. The details of these requirements and how they are applied are confidential, for security reasons.

The agreement with the EU and Switzerland "will ease the burden on industry and allow for the free movement of goods and commerce between our nations," said TSA Administrator John Pistole. "It will also strengthen security by ensuring that we share information and work together towards our common interests." Air cargo traffic between the EU and the U.S. amounts to over a million tons a year traveling each way across the Atlantic, which is over 20% of all outbound air cargo from the EU (2010 figures).

"With this mutual recognition of our comprehensive and solid regulatory frameworks we create significant savings and simplification for our freight transport industry while maintaining a high standard of security," said Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transportation.

Security costs are an important factor in terms of costs and time for cargo operators, EU officials said, and difficulties to comply with different security requirements have forced carriers to stop carrying certain types of cargo. Depending on the carrier's profile, security measures may account for up to 4% of turnover and the additional cost of duplicate transatlantic measures can account for one-fifth of the security costs. Mutual recognition, by a conservative estimate, saves several tens of millions of euros per year in the EU alone, without any negative impact on security, they said.

Under the agreement, air carriers transporting cargo from EU airports to the U.S. no longer need to apply different measures, but need to implement in full the EU legal requirements which lay down obligations on the screening of consignments and on a regulated secure supply chain, the EU said. Both sides also agreed to exchange information on the evolution and the implementation of each other’s security regimes, including participation in inspections, in order to ensure continued and full compliance by air cargo operators.

The EU also agreed to recognize the U.S. cargo security regime as meeting the recently adopted EU requirements for cargo being flown into the EU from third countries. Therefore, no additional measures are required from air carriers transporting cargo shipments from the U.S. to the EU. Details are here.

The International Air Transport Association applauded the U.S.-EU agreement, saying it "will avoid redundancies and allocate screening resources most effectively." IATA Director General Tony Tyler said "the US-EU Cargo Security Agreement marks a major step forward in one of the most important air cargo markets."

"This agreement is a great example of what can be achieved when stakeholders cooperate as partners with a common purpose. Regulators and industry have worked closely together throughout over seven years with a focus on harmonization and better security. We hope that this agreement is the cornerstone for further alignment, especially for passenger security. This partnership model should serve as a template for other national regulators moving towards risk-based security regimes," said Tyler.