Exporting Cargo by Airfreight to the USA

  • security

    From the 01/07/2017 security arrangements change . As  United States (US) legislation obliges all airlines transporting air cargo to the US on a passenger flight to examine 100 per cent of air cargo at piece-level.

    This means that each individual box, ca rton or other item in a shipment must be examined by technology or physically inspected before it is loaded onto a US-bound aircraft.

    However there is an alternative approach available for exporters 

    Rather than  examining your  cargo at piece-level .The Department  of Transport has developed a new scheme that will authorise businesses to secure US-bound air cargo at the source. The new scheme will establish a new category of industry participant directly regulated by the Transport  Department  called “The  known consignor”.The known consignor scheme ,will offer export businesses an alternative way to secure their US-bound air cargo through approved security measures..As air cargo originating from known consignors, will not require further examination, provided it remains secure until it is loaded onto an aircraft.

    Requirements for known consignors 

    The known consignor will need to be able to demonstrate they have security measures in place to ensure cargo cannot be tampered with before export. That is, their cargo is secured from origin packing source all the way onto the aircraft.The security measures required  will depend on each individual business . This reflects the fact that exporters operate in a wide variety of environments.Security measures will include

    • physical accesscontrol information security
    • secure packing, handling and storage of air cargotransportation of secured air cargo
    • security awarenessdevelopment of response procedures in case access control is breached
    • vetting of employees to ensure they are of suitable character
    •  quality control procedures in place to monitor and manage compliance
    • detection and resolution of suspicious activity
    • incident reporting procedures

    Becoming a known consignor 

    Entry into the known consignor scheme will be by application, validation, and approval by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
    Businesses will need to provide supporting documentation in their application to demonstrate that they can meet security requirements to become a known consignor and have in place the required security measures.The business will be validated  this may include a specific site-visit. Known consignors will be subject to regular compliance activities by the Department. To apply click here

    What is piece-level examination?

    Piece-level examination refers to examination of cargo at a low-level of consolidation before it is packed into unit load devices (ULDs) or onto pallets. In Australia, there are three approved examination methods:

    • x-ray;
    • explosive trace detection
    • physical examination

    The costs involved for piece-level examination . These costs will vary depending on the type of examination that might be conducted. Some of these costs may include:

    • purchasing technical examination equipment
    • the cost of staff to operate examination equipment
    • training costs
    • maintenance costs

     Worldwide MORE than just freight forwarding

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