BONNER SAYS COUNTRIES COMMITTED TO CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE

BONNER SAYS COUNTRIES COMMITTED TO CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE    U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said countries in Asia and Europe have committed to the agency's Container Security Initiative, a program that calls for pre-screening of cargo containers before coming to an American port.
   Bonner said he expects in the next few weeks to list those countries in Asia and Europe who have agreed to commit to the program.
   “We will take it overseas,” Bonner said of CSI at a conference for the American Association of Exporters and Importers in New York. “It is a practical program.”
   Bonner said CSI, which has been implemented since March, is a practical program that could be part of an international global security initiative. The United States and Canada have already stationed their own customs personnel at one another’s ports to shore inspection and security enforcement capabilities. Both countries host their counterpart’s personnel at the ports of Seattle, Newark, Halifax, Vancouver and Montreal.