 |
05 August 2004 Container Security Initiative Expands Operations in JapanU.S., Japanese customs inspectors join forces in Nagoya, Kobe Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be deployed to the ports of Nagoya and Kobe in Japan starting August 6, according to an announcement from CBP commissioner Robert C. Bonner and the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau. The U.S. customs officers will work with Japanese government personnel at the two ports as part of CBP's Container Security Initiative (CSI), an August 2 CBP press release said. CSI, launched by the former U.S. Customs Service in January 2002, is a program to prevent the smuggling of terrorist weapons in ocean-going cargo containers. Eighteen countries have established agreements with the United States under the CSI program. Japan and the United States sealed a CSI declaration of principles in September 2002. Nagoya and Kobe are the 22nd and 23rd ports worldwide to become operational under the initiative. In Japan, they join the ports of Yokohama, where CSI operations began in March 2003, and Tokyo, which became operational in May 2004. A reciprocal program, CSI also authorizes participating countries
to station their customs officers at U.S. seaports to screen cargo
that is exported to their countries via ocean-going containers.
Japan is the second CSI partner country to take advantage of this
provision, according to the CBP. Japanese customs officers are
working at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Canada has customs
personnel stationed at the ports of Newark and Seattle. Following is the full text of the CBP press release: (begin text) U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Customs and Border Protection Announces that Ports of Nagoya and Kobe Become Latest Container Security Initiative (CSI) Ports To Go Operational August 02, 2004 Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner and the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau announced today that CBP officers will be deployed on August 6, 2004, to the ports of Nagoya and Kobe as part of CBP's Container Security Initiative (CSI). CBP and the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau sealed a CSI declaration of principles on September 26, 2002. CSI became operational at the port of Yokohama on March 24, 2003, and at the port of Tokyo on May 21, 2004. As part of the CSI program, U.S. Customs and Border Protection deployed a team of CBP officers to the ports of Yokohama and Tokyo to work with host government personnel to target any cargo container that poses a risk for terrorism destined for the United States. Japanese Customs screens containers identified as a potential terrorist risk. The ports of Nagoya and Kobe are the 22nd and 23rd CSI ports to become operational. "I am deeply grateful for the support of the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau for the successful implementation and expansion of CSI in Japan. Because CSI will detect and therefore deter attempts by terrorists to exploit cargo containers, the Container Security Initiative protects the U.S. against acts of terrorism. It secures trade between our two nations as well as the global trading system," said Commissioner Bonner. CSI is a reciprocal program. CBP offers CSI-participating countries the opportunity to send their customs officers to U.S. seaports to target cargo that is exported to their country via ocean containers. CBP will also share its intelligence and pre-arrival information on a bilateral basis with its CSI partners. Sharing of information is intended to be a reciprocal process. Japan is the second CSI partner country to station customs personnel in U.S. ports as part of the CSI program. Japanese customs personnel are stationed at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Canadian Customs personnel are stationed at Newark and Seattle. Eighteen countries have entered into a CSI agreement with the United States. CSI, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiative, is operational at 23 of the world's major seaports in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the protection of our nation's borders. CBP unified Customs, Immigration, Agriculture Inspectors, and the Border Patrol into one border agency for the United States. Contacts For This Press Release: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. CBP Headquarters (end text) |
