US u-turn on passport requirements?

Authorities in the US are reportedly considering a two-year delay to a proposed requirement for visitors to present a biometric passport. As reported by News From Abroad, the planned measures were for visitors from some 27 countries, including the UK, to be issued passports containing digital information – otherwise they would have to apply for a visa to visit the country. However, most of those countries have stated that they would struggle to meet the October deadline imposed by congress – the UK is unlikely to be ready to issue such documents before summer 2005. According to the Daily Telegraph, the US secretary of state Colin Powell has written to Congress warning that the imposition of such a strict deadline could lead to “grave consequences” and the loss of billions of dollars in lost tourist revenue. The newspaper reports that the US travel industry has also expressed its concern at how the proposal would affect the tourist trade. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad