§944 Container Security Standards and Procedures

Summary

The Secretary must start making rules within 90 days after October 13, 2006 to set minimum standards and procedures for securing containers coming to the United States. An interim final rule must be issued within 180 days after October 13, 2006. If that interim rule is missed, the Secretary must send a letter to the proper congressional committees explaining why and what remains to be done. All containers bound for U.S. ports must meet the standards no later than 2 years after the standards are set. If the interim rule is not issued by April 1, 2008, then by October 15, 2008 all containers in transit to the U.S. must meet the International Organization for Standardization Publicly Available Specification 17712 seal standard until the interim rule takes effect. The Secretary must regularly review and improve the standards as new detection technologies become available, especially to guard against the highest-risk threats like weapons of mass destruction. The Secretary is encouraged to work with other federal officials, advisory committees, and international groups (for example IMO, ISO, ILO, and WCO) to promote global container security standards. Actions under this rule must be coordinated with other federal agencies and private stakeholders and must not violate U.S. international trade or other international obligations.