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Hong Kong worries that stricter reporting rules will reduce efficiency

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In many ways, the difficulty Hong Kong is having in getting to grips with the United States Container Security Initiative can be attributed to a clash of business cultures.

While the Hong Kong government at times trips over itself to get out of the way of the private sector, the US is arguably the most regulated business environment in the world.

In a nutshell, in its effort to prevent the global supply chain (or that reaching into the US, anyway) from being a vehicle for acts of terrorism, the Bush administration is telling the rest of the world how to trade.

Only an organisation with the weight of the world's most lucrative consumer base squarely behind it would have such temerity.

The carrot? The US says shippers who comply will have faster access to the US market. Whether local exporters agree with the way it is being enforced or not, it is an offer they cannot refuse.

Washington's first salvo in its war against terrorism by container has been fired against the ubiquitous cargo manifest, the list that details what is in the box.

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