Fergie's Tech Blog

Port of Los Angeles Prepares to Cancel Controversial Chinese X-ray Contract

Jacob Goodwin writes on Government Security News:

Nearly seven months after taking delivery of a mobile X-ray system manufactured in the People's Republic of China, the Port of Los Angeles is on the verge of canceling the controversial contract.

The staff at the port has recommended that the Board of Harbor Commissioners find DULY Research, Inc., the California-based broker who represents the Chinese manufacturer, in default of the terms of the contract, when it next meets on Feb. 5.

The contract created a stir in the media and on Capitol Hill because the manufacturer is Nuctech Company Limited, a Chinese company headquartered in Beijing, whose president happens to be the son of the President of the People's Republic of China.

Critics of the deal argued that procuring a Chinese-built X-ray scanning system could endanger U.S. national security, that it would outsource U.S. manufacturing jobs, and that it was possible that Nuctech had "reverse engineered" patented U.S. and European X-ray technologies. The fact that a large portion of the purchase price would be reimbursed with a port security grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security drew additional criticism.

posted by Fergie @ 2/06/2009 07:38:00 PM