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Results for cargo security (u.s., canada, mexico)

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Author: Veiter, Daniela

Title: Cargo Security Initiatives in the United States, Canada and Mexico and their Effect on Trade in the NAFTA Region

Summary: Cross-border trade today is an essential driver of nations’ prosperity. A prolonged disruption in a supply chain has an enormous impact on a country’s as well as the global economy. The international transportation network and its long supply chains are very fragile and vulnerable to terrorist abuse or similar attacks. The high number of agents add another level of risk. The products, factories, supply chain facilities and supply chain partners, carriers, people and information could all present danger to the supply chain. Globalization turned the market place into a competitive environment where companies seek to hire the most affordable workers as well as choose the cheapest suppliers or service providers. This trend spreads business practices out all over the world and increases the need for transportation while adding complexity to a company’s value chain. The most effective way is a worldwide cooperation of countries on securing the global trade system without hindering the trade flow. A global partnership involving all agents along a supply chain with harmonised and compatible systems, both for customs work and for the exchange of information would be the perfect solution. And collaboration and coordinated work reduces the risk of disruptions and is more cost-effective too. Since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington DC, the international trade community has dedicated more time and money on the issue of security. The U.S. government, the Canadian government and the Mexican government have established a multi-layered defense strategy to protect their people and country. International cargo that is being shipped to certain target countries poses a significant security risk. In particular, cargo containers can be abused to carry weapons, in particular weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or other dangerous items. Those containers are particularly vulnerable to changes from their legitimate commercial purpose due to the numerous transfers within the transport chain they are subject to. Those very same internationally moving containers, though, are of utter importance to global commerce as they ship about 95% of the world’s international cargo, in terms of value. Over 48 million containers are being shipped between seaports around the world. Intermodal transport has enabled trucks and trains to move goods around continents in the ocean containers. Any terrorist actions can have largescale damage to a country’s society and economy and thus it is essential to have systems in place that can prevent such events from happening beforehand. The United States of America was the first country to start introducing plans to identify high risk cargo shipments and soon Canada and Mexico followed. The initiatives seek to ensure security over different levels. There are three main areas of risk that these security initiatives seek to address. First, the security of vital cargo information relating to the contents and destination of the shipment must be accessible by customs authorities. This also includes IT security. Then there is the level of physical control through inspections and screening. The last level covers the entire supply chain through screening and background checks of every agent involved in the process. This includes all groups between the manufacturer and the final destination of the product. This thesis talks about cargo security initiatives in the NAFTA countries of the United States, Canada and Mexico for any shipments crossing borders between those countries by either road, sea, air or rail. It shows the development and intensification of those security regulations over the last years, analyses their purpose and recommends how to best deal with them if you are a business located in this area.

Details: Vienna: Institut für Transportwirtschaft und Logistik, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2009. 133p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: http://epub.wu.ac.at/822/1/document.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL: http://epub.wu.ac.at/822/1/document.pdf

Shelf Number: 123240

Keywords:
Cargo Security (U.S., Canada, Mexico)
Cargo Theft
Maritime Crime
Stolen Goods
Stolen Property
Supply Chains
Terrorism