EU and US sign key air security agreement

Airfreight between the United States and European Union is expected to flow faster following the signing of an agreement between the European Commission and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The two have agreed to recognise each other’s air cargo security regimes starting on June 1, 2012. “We are getting rid of duplication of security controls, while preserving high levels of security. This is a big step forward and it will have a major business impact. Air freight is by definition naturally urgent. Cutting out the duplication of security procedures will mean huge savings for cargo operators in terms of time and money,” said Siim Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for transport. The EU and US are each other’s single most important destination for air cargo. Air cargo volumes between the EU and the US amount to over a million tons a year travelling each way across the Atlantic. EU airfreight exports to the US alone are worth more than Є107 billion, which is 27% of the value of all goods exported by air by the EU (2011 figures). Security is an important factor in terms of costs and time for cargo operators, and difficulties in complying with different security requirements have forced carriers to stop carrying certain types of cargo. Depending on the carrier’s profile, security measures may account for up to 4% of turnover and the additional cost of duplicate transatlantic measures can account for one-fifth of the security costs.