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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 26, 2002
Fact Sheet: Cooperative G-8 Action on Transport Security
"More and more, civilized nations find ourselves on the same side -- united by common dangers of terrorist violence and chaos."President George W. Bush
June 1, 2002
Presidential Action
The Challenge: The global transport infrastructure -- ships, planes, ports, roads, etc. -- is the lifeblood of international commerce. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, illustrated how critical the international transport system is to our economic and national security A key challenge arising from those attacks is to promote the efficient and reliable movement of people and goods across borders, while preventing the tools of transport from becoming tools of terrorism. The challenge is critical: 48 million shipping containers are exported and imported annually, tens of thousands of ships are engaged in trade daily, and more than 14,000 planes are flying in the global fleet of commercial airlines.
G-8 Plan of Action: G-8 countries account for over 50 percent of the world's trade, approximately two-thirds of the world's passenger aircraft fleet, and 13 of the world's 25 busiest international airports. The U.S. proposed in March that the G-8 cooperate in addressing these challenges by advancing key transport security initiatives within G-8 countries, and in multilateral bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization, and the World Customs Organization.
Today, the G-8 agreed on a transport security action plan that will:
Commitments include:
At the same time, the plan will facilitate the cost-effective and efficient flow of people, cargo, and conveyances engaged in legitimate activities. G-8 countries have agreed to promote policy coherence and coordination in all relevant international organizations, and to review progress every six months.
Other U.S. Efforts: The United States has been working bilaterally and multilaterally to keep the arteries of commerce clear while strengthening security surrounding the world's transportation infrastructure. We have comprehensive smart border initiatives underway with Mexico and Canada that use modern technology to enhance security and expedite legitimate cross-border travel and commerce. We are also working with the ports in Singapore and Rotterdam to create cargo pre-screening programs. Singapore and Rotterdam are, respectively, the second and sixth largest container ports in the world.
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