In 2009, we will finally obtain the heightened benefits provided by the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program and begin to realize the benefits from enhanced cargo information as required by Customs and Border Protection’s 10+2 rule. These are important milestones in closing potential gaps in supply-chain security. While maritime security is no longer front-page news, there are lessons to be learned from the response to 9/11 that could be instructive in this current financial crisis as well as in the industry’s approach to environmental issues.
Shortly after 9/11, there was a mass mentality that subscribed to the belief that cargo containers were a threat to U.S. security and that we would not be secure until each container coming into the country was physically examined. Cooler heads prevailed, and a more reasoned approach was adopted based on sound risk-management principles and multiple layers of security. This view has enhanced supply-chain security without bringing international commerce to a standstill.
In the financial sector, we must be cautious about invoking an exaggerated pendulum-swing response that could produce overregulation of the markets and thus stifle innovation and limit opportunities for investment. Finding this middle ground amid a climate of fear will be a challenge.
The environmental sustainability of vessel and port operations is another area where adherence to federal law is of paramount importance. While we applaud the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in their efforts to reduce harmful air emissions, certain aspects of their clean-trucks program impermissibly over reach in an area that has little to do with clean trucks and a lot to do with the federal shipping law that all industry stakeholders must adhere to. The courts should see to it that the ports’ response to serious environmental issues does not run afoul of federal law.