Foreign Ships Threaten More Than Our Health. Congress Shouldn’t Make It Easier for Them to Dock.
Just weeks ago, U.S. officials revealed that COSCO, China’s state-owned shipping giant, allegedly used concealed equipment aboard one of its ships to intercept American military communications. Against that backdrop, a handful of Republicans in Congress are pushing to strip away one of the only protections California has against foreign ships operating with minimal oversight.
America First. It’s the notion that the U.S. economy should be bolstered by policies that benefit American workers, industries and national interests. It’s a mandate the Trump White House will defend to prove that we don’t extend goodwill or accommodations to foreign actors, including allies, at the expense of American interests. It is also a mandate that is about to be tested at America’s ports.
That test comes by way of the congressional review of California’s At-Berth Regulation and Commercial Harbor Craft policy — the requirements that force large ships to use shore power or approved emissions-capture technologies while docked instead of idling diesel engines at berth. Most of the debate so far has focused on health. Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen, and there’s already a strong public health case for why this technology matters to port communities. What’s gotten far less attention are the national security implications.
