Port and Supply-Chain Security Initiatives in the United States and Abroad

Abstract : Between 1990 and 2004, the value of U.S. international trade increased from $889 billion to nearly $2.2 trillion. Roughly two-thirds of this total value of trade passed through U.S. freight gateways (primarily ports) to and from countries other than Canada and Mexico. The top 50 U.S. ports accounted for about 90 percent of all maritime cargo tonnage; and 25 U.S. ports accounted for 98 percent of all container shipments. In 2004 alone, the liner shipping industry transported $1.5 billion worth of containerized goods, through U.S. ports, every day. All told, roughly 10 million loaded cargo containers entered the U.S. in 2004. Given universal recognition that cargo containers may be used to smuggle chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons, it is understandable that assuring container security has become a priority to governments and the international trade community alike to prevent incidents of mass destruction and major disruptions to the world economy. Mike Toddington, Executive Director of the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police, has noted that public officials must walk a fine line in devising methods that simultaneously secure ports and facilitate trade. Promoting both security and trade facilitation requires the examination of global supply chains. Cargo container movements, between points of origin and their ultimate destinations, are characterized by complex interactions among multiple actors, industries, regulatory agencies, modes of transportation, operating systems and legal frameworks. On behalf of the Congressional Research Service, the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, conducted research during the 2005-06 academic year to examine the various institutional, legal and policy arrangements that have been put into place in the U.S. and abroad to enhance worldwide port and supply chain security.