FRENCH CUSTOMS IN LE HAVRE IMPLEMENTS CSI PROGRAM

FRENCH CUSTOMS IN LE HAVRE IMPLEMENTS CSI PROGRAM    The French Customs authorities are providing active support for the Container Security Initiative of U.S. Customs in the port of Le Havre, by obtaining automatically data on goods before customs clearance, and targeting high-risk containers.
   The French and Customs administrations announced at the end of June an agreement on the participation of the port of Le Havre in the Container Security Initiative. The program is a U.S. Customs initiative designed to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers.
   Alongside their French counterparts in the port of Le Havre, American Customs officers are to take part in targeting high-risk goods on shipping connections with the United States.
   Containers are checked by physically inspecting the goods or by using an X-ray scanner.
   The port of Le Havre also has a computerized system enabling the follow-up in real time of the containers in the port.
   Le Havre is the third port in Europe to participate in the Container Security Initiative, after Rotterdam and Antwerp.