Air cargo can be shipped faster and more cheaply between Europe and the USA thanks to a newsecurity agreement that entered force today (June 1) and which has been hailed by airlines as
“historic”.The European Commission and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have agreedto recognise each other’s air cargo security regimes from 1 June 2012 on. This means shipmentsbetween the two regions will no longer have to undergo time-consuming duplicate security controlsat both EU and US airports, thus speeding up door-to-door transit times and eliminating operatingcosts.
“We are getting rid of duplication of security controls, while preserving high levels ofsecurity. This is a big step forwards and it will have a major business impact. Air freight is bydefinition naturally urgent. Cutting out the duplication of security procedures will mean hugesavings for cargo operators in terms of time and money,” said Siim Kallas, Vice-President of theEuropean Commission responsible for transport.
The EU and U.S. are each other’s single most important destination for air cargo, theCommission noted. Air cargo traffic between the EU and the U.S. amounts to over a million tonnes ayear travelling each way across the Atlantic. The goods transported by air from the EU to the USalone are worth more than €107 billion, which is 27 per cent of the value of all goods exported byair by the EU (2011 figures).
Security costs are an important factor in terms of costs and time for cargo operators, anddifficulties to comply with different security requirements have forced carriers to stop carryingcertain types of cargo. Depending on the carrier’s profile, security measures may account for up to4 per cent of turnover and the additional cost of duplicate transatlantic measures can account forone-fifth of the security costs. Mutual recognition, by a conservative estimate, saves several tensof millions of euros per year in the EU alone, without any negative impact on security.
Close cooperation between the European Commission and the TSA over the last few monthspermitted the air cargo security regimes in place in the EU and the U.S. to be compared in detailand to be confirmed as ensuring an equivalent, high level of security.
Air carriers transporting cargo from EU airports to the U.S. therefore no longer need toapply different measures, but need to implement in full the EU legal requirements which lay downobligations on the screening of consignments and on a regulated secure supply chain. The EU alsorecognises the U.S. cargo security regime as meeting the recently adopted EU requirements for cargobeing flown into the EU from third countries. Therefore, no additional measures are required fromair carriers transporting cargo shipments from the U.S. to the EU. The agreement also covers aircargo between Switzerland and the EU.
Both sides also agreed to exchange information on the evolution and the implementation ofeach other’s security regimes, including participation in inspections, in order to ensure continuedand full compliance by air cargo operators.
Until now, air cargo flown into the U.S. had to be submitted to controls defined in securityprogrammes issued by the TSA. This did not take into consideration the extensive controls alreadyapplied at EU airports and often required duplication of certain controls or running separatesecurity regimes for U.S. bound cargo in parallel to applying EU rules. The cost for implementingseparate regimes could be very high and, in addition, significantly affected the speed andefficiency of operations for shippers transporting goods to their customers.
The security agreement was warmly welcomed by IATA which described it as “historic” and theculmination of seven years of effort by regulators and industry stakeholders to achieve alignmentof air cargo security measures.
“Air cargo is vital to the global economy. By value, thirty-five per cent of goods tradedinternationally are transported by air. It is critical for global business that these shipmentsmove both securely and efficiently. The US-EU Cargo Security Agreement marks a major step forwardin one of the most important air cargo markets,” said Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO.
“This agreement is a great example of what can be achieved when stakeholders cooperate aspartners with a common purpose. Regulators and industry have worked closely together throughoutover seven years with a focus on harmonization and better security. We hope that this agreement isthe cornerstone for further alignment, especially for passenger security. This partnership modelshould serve as a template for other national regulators moving towards risk-based securityregimes,” said Tyler.
