Left out: European Commission wants U.S. Customs to negotiate Europe-wide security agreement. (Maritime).

European Union officials would like all international agreements affecting EU nations to go through Brussels. The EU's European Commission recently sued to block bilateral air-transport agreements that the United States has negotiated with individual nations in Europe. Now the same issue has been raised over U.S. efforts to tighten supply-chain security.

European Commission officials want the U.S. Customs Service to negotiate cargo-security programs on a Europe-wide basis rather than the bilateral Container Security Initiative agreements that Customs has concluded with seven European nations.

CSI permits the stationing of U.S. Customs officials at overseas ports to screen U.S.-bound shipments. The program, announced last year, …