FINLAND SUPPORTS CARGO SCANNING, CONCERNED ABOUT

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000730 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EWWT AMGT PTER FI SUBJECT: FINLAND SUPPORTS CARGO SCANNING, CONCERNED ABOUT FEEDER PORTS REF: SECSTATE 119837 ¶1. (SBU) Econoff delivered reftel demarche on the new U.S. law on maritime cargo scanning to Jyrki Linna, Olli Tuomisto and Erik Dannback, all from the Finnish National Board of Customs. Already aware of the U.S. requirement to scan all cargo by the end of 2012, Finnish officials are generally supportive of measures to increase overall container security. All sea containers from Finland destined for the U.S. depart from one of Finland's ten "feeder ports" to ultimately be reloaded onto larger vessels at "deep sea ports" outside of Finland. Finnish officials hope all containers departing from Finnish ports can be fully scanned and sealed while still in Finland, thus speeding cargo time-to-market. Acknowledging the anticipated expense for scanners, Finnish officials nevertheless hope all feeder ports can receive the necessary equipment and certification to scan and secure containers for the entire trip to the U.S. ¶2. (SBU) Customs officials recognize this new law necessitates that the Customs Department play a more significant role in certifying containers, something local port authorities have typically done in the past. This change will likely require a restructuring of Board of Customs' duties and its jurisdiction in Finland. While again supportive of U.S. measures to improve security, Customs officials anticipated that the EU will require similar checks at U.S. ports on a quid pro quo basis, and that some countries might appeal to the WTO if the added security measures are shown to have an adverse impact on worldwide flow of goods. ¶3. (U) There has been no notable coverage in the Finnish press of the U.S. cargo scanning requirement. HYATT