The US plans to enforce strict new security rules on Feb. 2 for imports by sea in containers, despite complaints from many shippers that they are not ready, an American official said here last week.
Drafted in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the rules are aimed at reducing the risk that a nuclear bomb or other bulky weapon of mass destruction could be shipped to the US. But exporters in Hong Kong in particular have been warning of delays and possible chaos at docks and warehouses because of the rules.
Exporters will have to provide detailed cargo manifests 24 hours before a ship sails or face steep fines, and even a possible ban on the unloading of the ship at any American port. Shipping lines, in turn, have told exporters that they will not accept containers without early documentation for ships setting sail on or after Feb. 2, for fear that a vessel laden with steel shipping containers could be delayed because of problems with a single box, at a cost of thousands of dollars in vessel operating costs per hour.
Douglas M. Browning, the deputy commissioner of the US Customs Service, said at a news conference at the American Consulate here on last week that while customs officials were willing to provide as much information as needed on how to comply, enforcement would not be delayed.
"Effective Feb. 2, we will use all available tools to ensure compliance," he said.
Few exporters comply with the new rules, although many are now scrambling to do so. Steen B. Lund, the vice president for China and Hong Kong at Maersk Sealand, the world's biggest shipping line, said that it only received manifests 24 hours in advance for half the containers it hauls from Hong Kong to the US, and 90 percent of these early manifests are amended. The new rules effectively bar such amendments, although Browning said the Customs Service was reviewing its policy on amendments.
Hong Kong sends 6,000 containers a day to the US, more than any other port, and faces an especially difficult time complying with the rules because of the way business is done here, Browning said.
One of Hong Kong's competitive advantages has been its near absence of import and export rules. Exporters here and in nearby Chinese cities often send goods to the docks just hours before shipment, a practice that reduces dock storage and other expenses. Many containers are filled at the last moment at warehouses next to the docks with goods from many different factories all destined for the same warehouse or department store overseas.
"They always wait until the last minute -- we hope we have passed the message" that this practice must change, said Sunny Ho, the executive director of the Shippers' Council here, which represents exporters. He expressed optimism that most exporters would update their methods before Feb. 2.
Multinational corporations and big trading companies dominate the export business to the US in many countries, especially Japan. But Hong Kong's exports come from thousands of small and medium-size businesses based here and in cities in the surrounding Pearl River delta region. While the ports themselves are highly automated and among the most efficient, many exporters still keep cargo records on paper and must now develop automated systems for faster processing.
The new rules went into effect Dec. 2 with a 60-day grace period. Hong Kong officials have been issuing public appeals to smaller exporters in particular to pay attention to the new rules and not to expect any further leniency.
"There is no doubt that the exporting and shipping sectors must change their established business practices in order to comply with the US Customs' requirement," Henry Tang, Hong Kong's secretary for commerce, industry and technology, said on Wednesday.
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