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US Customs has begun talks with Pakistan on expanding a pilot programme for 100 per cent screening of all US-bound containers at the port of Karachi. The success of similar exercise at the nearby Port of Qasim is believed to have prompted the US authorities to initiate the talks for Karachi port. The Port of Qasim was one of the seven ports that the US Congress wanted included in the secure freight initiative project of the US Customs & Border Protection agency, which has submitted two reports suggesting that 100 per cent screening is possible only at ports with low volumes to the US. Port of Qasim is one such port and among others are Southampton and Puerto Cortes in Honduras. But at ports handling larger volumes for the US, taking X-rays and radiation readings of every container is not practical because of the expense and logistical challenges of setting up inspection zones in ports without disrupting normal cargo flows. Some countries therefore fear that, in the garb of security measures, the US may move towards covert protectionism and consider imposing non-tariff barriers to impede trade.

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