Inspecting Incoming Containerized Shipping Crates Essays

There are many arguing points as to the validity of inspecting 100% of all incoming containerized shipping crates. According to Jim Kouri, â€Å"Over 12 million containers enter our country each year, and less than six percent are heavily inspected† (Kouri). Sooner or later our enemies will attempt to utilize this weakness in our national defense system to attack American citizens and our way of life. Protecting our homeland, protecting our resources and preserving our national defense infrastructure is something that can no longer be overlooked or delayed until tomorrow. Whether during peace or in times of war, our homeland security is something that must be taken very seriously. Our enemies will await their opportunity to attack the†¦show more content†¦conducts business with. The (CSI) does not target containers that are loaded at non-CSI ports. Therefore, once a container is loaded onto a vessel, even if it is identified for additional screening, the termina l operators are not going to waste time and money to remove the container from a vessel just to inspect it. According to CBP, â€Å"The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a collaborative effort between customs and the private community to improve the overall security of their supply chains, and to communicate their established security procedures, guidelines, and expectations to their business partners† (C-TPAT Overview). Suppliers who participate in C-TPAT are required to take stringent security steps with his/her goods in order to receive less scrutiny at the border. The goal of the program is to make suppliers accountable for what he/she ships. The thought of less scrutiny at the border entices many shipping companies to comply with CPAT standards. However, some overseas companies are simply complying with the new regulations in order to receive the benefits the regulations set forth. After being certified, many of them slip back into their old habits of doing business. The first smuggling incident involving a C-TPAT carrier occurred in 2005. In three separate incidents the Nippon Yusen Kaisha