EU officials are drafting a document to persuade the United States to relent on its law that that all US-bound containers be scanned for radiation by 2012.
Not only is such a demand expensive and discriminatory, says EU officials, it may well be useless too, said officials, according to Lloyd's List.
"How on earth would they afford to implement such a system in Africa?" said Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general of the Brussels-based European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), which represents EU port authorities.
Said ESPO chairman Giuliano Gallanti: "Radiating material is usually transported in special containments not allowing radiation to leave. This can be used to hide dirty bombs."
Expensive radiation detectors has to be operated manually because radiation comes from non-hazardous cargo like granite and tiles, said an ESPO statement.
"Given that US exporters are not required to have export cargo screened, this will discriminate against exporters based outside the US," said ESPO, which is contributing arguments to the European Commission brief to be presented to US authorities.
The EC "massive" estimate of costs of compliance is being built in talks with ports, and the process itself is part of a lobbying campaign to persuade Americans to revamp their anti-terror law and adopt a "mutual recognition of maritime security regimes" instead.
ESPO also said the US law will distort trade. Non-US ports will have to separate out US-bound containers, which will mean finding new storage areas at a time capacity shortages. Also separate loadings were bound to lead to delays, ESPO said, adding that a single scanner can only cope 130 containers a day.
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