see also: in November 2005 Press Releases:   CBP Air, Border Patrol Win 2005 USIC Awards   CBP Warns Consumers About Unsafe Toys and Counterfeit Products   Aduanas y Proteccion Fronteriza Recomiendan Tramitar con Tiempo Permiso I-94 Durante Epoca Decembrina   CBP Urges Mexican Holiday Travelers to Apply Early for I-94 Documents   U. S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize Nearly 2 Kilos of Cocaine at Newark Liberty International Airport   Calexico Port of Entry to Process I-94 Permits for Mexican Holiday Travelers Immediately   Puerto de Calexico Procesara Permisos I-94 de Manera Expedita a Viajeros Durante Epoca Navideña ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Washington, DC – Today, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner and the government of Argentina announced the port of Buenos Aires as the 41st operational Container Security Initiative (CSI) port to target and pre-screen maritime cargo containers destined for U.S. ports.

U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Lino Gutierrez and Dr. Alberto R. Abad, Federal Administrator of National Revenue of the Argentine Republic, signed the declaration of principles on May 9, 2005.

“The Container Security Initiative is a deterrent to terrorists seeking to use containerized cargo as a conduit for terrorism within the maritime environment. Having CSI ports, such as the one in Buenos Aires, is making U.S. borders more secure and more efficient,” said Commissioner Bonner. “CSI is a way of addressing the threat to global trade making it more secure against terrorist exploitation and Argentina was the first South American country to agree to participate in CSI. CBP will continue to cast out the CSI security blanket to additional foreign ports.”

CBP will deploy a team of officers to be stationed at the port of Buenos Aires to target maritime containers destined for the United States. Argentine Customs officials, working with CBP officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential terrorist risk.

Currently, there are 41 operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. Approximately 75 percent of cargo containers headed to the U.S. originate in or are transshipped from CSI ports.

Under the Container Security Initiative, CBP has entered into bilateral partnerships to identify high-risk cargo containers before they are loaded on vessels destined for the United States. Today, a total of 25 administrations have committed to join CSI and are at various stages of implementation.

“When first initiated, CSI was a revolutionary idea – to engage foreign governments to work with us to extend the U.S. zone to security outward, so that our borders are not the first line of defense against the threat of terrorism, and to secure and protect trade lanes from foreign seaports to the U.S.,“ Commissioner Bonner said. “Now CSI is an accepted model of international cooperation to protect the global supply chain against terrorism.”

CBP’s goal is to have 50 operational CSI ports by the end of 2006. At that time, approximately 90 percent of all transatlantic and transpacific cargo imported into the United States will be subjected to pre-screening.

CSI will continue to expand to strategic locations around the world. The World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the G8 support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.