Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) applauded today’s historic agreement between the European Commission (EC) and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to recognize each other’s air cargo security programs. The agreement is the culmination of seven years of effort by regulators and industry stakeholders to achieve alignment of air cargo security measures. This will avoid redundancies and allocate screening resources most effectively.

“Air cargo is vital to the global economy. By value, thirty-five percent of goods traded internationally are transported by air. It is critical for global business that these shipments move both securely and efficiently. The US-EU Cargo Security Agreement marks a major step forward in one of the most important air cargo markets,” said Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO.

“This agreement is a great example of what can be achieved when stakeholders cooperate as partners with a common purpose. Regulators and industry have worked closely together throughout over seven years with a focus on harmonization and better security. We hope that this agreement is the cornerstone for further alignment, especially for passenger security. This partnership model should serve as a template for other national regulators moving towards risk-based security regimes,” said Tyler.

The US-EU cargo security agreement means that the US recognizes the equivalency and effectiveness of EU cargo security regimes as applied in all 27 EU countries and Switzerland. This will allow all air carriers flying out of the EU and Switzerland to apply EU security measures as a means of complying with US law. Similarly, the EU recognizes the equivalence of the US air cargo security regime which will allow cargo flying from the US into the EU and Switzerland not to be subjected to additional EU security measures at US airports.

Source: IATA
Photo: Rob Vogelaar Z.A.P.P.