GERMANY AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN CSI

GERMANY AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN CSI    The government of Germany on Thursday said it has agreed to participate in U.S. Customs’ Container Security Initiative.
   Under the agreement between the United States and Germany, U.S. Customs officers will be stationed at the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven.
   CSI is a Customs initiative designed to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons of mass destructions in ocean-going cargo containers.
   The ports of Bremerhaven and Hamburg are among the top 20 “mega-ports” of the world, with Bremerhaven handling nearly 31 million tons of goods per year. Last year, approximately 257,000 sea cargo containers entered the U.S. from Bremerhaven and 103,000 from Hamburg.
   The initiative supports the “Cooperative G8 Action on Transport Security,” adopted by G8 nations at a meeting last month.
   U.S. Customs is in discussion with several other nations, including countries in Europe and Asia, about forming additional CSI partnerships.