Hundreds of Trade Groups Call for Governments to Unite and Stop Red Sea Attacks
More than a hundred organizations wrote an open letter calling upon governments to unite behind a “zero-tolerance” policy to deter attacks on vessels and seafarers in the Red Sea and “anywhere in the world.” The letter, dated Feb. 8, said that more than 30% of the world’s trade moves through the Red Sea and that the attacks have caused more than $80 billion in cargo to be “diverted” around the Cape of Good Hope.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The Good Hope route adds at least two to three weeks of travel and “hundreds of thousands in additional fuel and labor costs compared to traveling through the Suez Canal,” the letter said (see 2312200045). The delays also have led to port congestion, equipment shortages and “soaring shipping rates” around the world (see 2401180050), it said.
“This is truly a global problem that demands the participation and support of all nations that rely on global trade,” the letter said.
Signers of the letter include the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.