AFL-CIO's Jason Judd's Unchecked Report blasts Wal-Mart on Port security
06 Apr '06
2 min read
Wal-Mart and its Washington, D.C., lobbyist, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), have systematically undermined America's security by working to defeat or weaken rules to make America's seaports and supply chains safe from terrorist attacks.
A new report by the AFL-CIO's Jason Judd, Unchecked: How Wal-Mart Uses Its Might to Block Port Security, documents their efforts since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to ensure that “security requirements should not become a barrier to trade.”
With $11.2 billion in profits last year, Wal-Mart is RILA's biggest and most influential member by far.
Wal-Mart counts on the trade group's representation in matters ranging from Maryland's state law requiring large employers to pay minimal amounts for workers' health care to challenges of other countries' zoning and investment laws before the World Trade Organization.
On port security, that representation has included pressuring Congress to reject requirements for “smart containers” and electronic seals on cargo coming into the United States, independent and regular inspections of supply chain security practices, container-handling fees to help finance port security measures and requirements to let US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) know what is being shipped in and from where it is coming.
One of America's top port security experts, retired US Coast Guard Commander Stephen Flynn, puts the cost of helping protect our ports at 0.2percent of the value of cargo in the containers—for Wal-Mart, about $36 million a year.
marketing@alchempro.com
