U.S. CUSTOMS POSTPONES HONG KONG CSI TEAM

U.S. CUSTOMS POSTPONES HONG KONG CSI TEAM    The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has delayed deployment of agency officials to the Port of Hong Kong to establish a Container Security Initiative program, due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in China.
   Jayson Ahern, assistant commissioner for field operations, told a trade security symposium hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., that the CSI team was scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong last week, but was held back because of concerns about the spread of the potentially deadly disease.
   U.S. Customs has CSI teams on the ground in about a half-dozen countries so far to conduct pre-screen containers before they shipped and identify high-risk containers to be searched before arrival at a U.S. port.
   The CSI teams generally include three inspectors, a research analyst and a senior customs representative who conduct site assessments and install automated systems for targeting shipment data and containers.