Bonner suggests cap on CSI ports

Bonner suggests cap on CSI ports    The United States will need to expand the Container Security Initiative, an over-the-horizon cargo inspection program, to about 20 more international ports in order to maximize the ability t interdict any terrorists or weapons of mass destruction hidden in a U.S.-bound sea container, the man in charge of protecting the nation’s borders said Friday.
   Robert Bonner, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said 95 percent of cargo imported by the United States would be covered by some sort of pre-inspection capability with about 53 ports participating in the program. There are 33 ports around the world in which small teams of U.S. customs officers are stationed. U.S. personnel, using targeting scores based on advance shipping data, identify high-risk shipments for domestic customs authorities to X-ray or search for terrorists, contraband and weapons.
   Bonner’s comments are one of the first indications the agency has identified a limit to how many ports should participate in CSI. He spoke on the second day of the Department of Homeland Security’s “summit” on cargo security at Georgetown University in which industry representatives were invited to give feedback on the progress of CSI and other supply chain security programs.
   Bonner reiterated his top goals for securing international cargo are to develop a sensored container that can provide tampering alerts (the “smart box”), strengthening requirements and benefits for companies participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism trusted shipper program, collect more detailed data on commercial transactions between importers and manufacturers before shipments arrive at a foreign port, development of a contingency plan for restarting trade in the event of a terrorist attack using a container or involving a port, completion of the Automated Commercial Environment and the International Trade Data System to serve as a single portal for government agencies to share trade data, and convince other countries to adopt CSI and other U.S. pre-export safeguards as the international standard.