First, I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Canada for their generous—and heartfelt—response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The Canadian Embassy has held fundraisers. Canadian volunteers have worked tirelessly helping in every way they can. The Canadian people and businesses have donated goods and services.

Your response is just another example of the Canadian spirit—and America’s good neighbor.

The 60,000 companies that make up the Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance are important stakeholders for United States Customs and Border Protection. You run the businesses that fuel both our economies. Many of you are our partners in Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism—“C-TPAT.” You are the importers, the exporters, and the manufacturers and transporters who move goods and people across our borders. You are community leaders in both our countries.

And I view this Alliance and its members as partners with CBP and the Department of Homeland Security—and with our counterpart in Canada—CBSA—in managing, securing and facilitating the movement of trade and travel across our mutual border.

Yesterday, I directed that all ports of entry—all official entry points into the United States be closed at 8:46 a.m.

As I have done every year for the past three years, I directed that all ports of entry be closed for one minute—all airports, all seaports, all our land border crossings on the Canadian border—from Blaine, Washington, to Houlton, Maine—and the ports of entry in between, all ports along our border with Mexico—in memory of the 2,933 innocent people who were murdered on 9/11.

May God bless the families and loved ones of the victims of the worst terrorist attack—in terms of loss of life—in the history of the world.

All I can say is: Never again!

The anniversary of 9/11 brings back to all of us the emotion and sting of that day—and the days that followed.

It is not true that time dims memory. What is true is that the memory of 9/11 strengthens our resolve to work with our partners around the world to do everything we can to stop another such attack from happening—here in the United States, in Canada, and in other nations around the world.

We all understand that the U.S. is not the only target of the global terrorists.

We saw this in London two months ago. And in Madrid…in Bali…Istanbul…Morocco…Tunsia…Saudi Arabia…and Djakarta—all terrorist attacks inspired by al Qaeda and al Qaeda associated terrorist organizations since 9/11.

Unfortunately, the threat from global terrorism is still with us.

Their intent is to kill innocent people and disrupt and damage the U.S.—and indeed, the world economy.

Canada and the U.S. are not only neighbors, but we’re good neighbors, trusted neighbors who have worked together a long time, but we have never worked more closely than we have since 9/11.

In fact, the first person who reached out to me after 9/11—and the first person I met with after I was sworn in as Commissioner of U.S. Customs in late September—was Rob Wright, my counterpart in Canada.

So, we have been together in this fight from the very beginning.

And from the very beginning Canada and the U.S. have worked together, as partners, not only to better secure the 5,000 miles of our mutual border, but to keep the official crossing points—the “ports of entry”—fluid and open for legitimate trade and travel.

I moved to Washington to assume my duties as Commissioner of United States Customs on September 10, 2001.

Although I had not yet been confirmed by the Senate—that came the following week—I approved going to Level One Security Alert at all our U.S. ports of entry, seaports, international airports, and land border ports of entry on 9/11—at about 10:05 a.m. on 9/11 to be precise.

And that morning I realized that the priority mission of U.S. Customs had become a national security mission—keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons from getting into the United States.

That was the first of two realizations that have guided me ever since.

The second came the next day, on 9/12, exactly four years ago today.

On 9/12, I realized we had to find ways to secure our border, but to do so without shutting it down—without shutting down our economy in the process.

On September 12 and 13, all of us saw the effects of going to Level One Alert—of vastly increasing inspections and scrutiny at U.S. borders. At the land border crossings with Canada, wait times skyrocketed from an average of 10-20 minutes on September 10—to over 10 to 12 hours by September 12, 2001.

Automobile plants waiting for just-in-time parts were beginning to shut down production by September 14. I was on the phone with executives of the major automobile manufacturers—General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, and Ford. You know what I’m talking about.

It was apparent to all of us that the border—our ports of entry—will freeze up when you substantially increase inspections—and that’s what going to Level One Alert does—without enough inspector staff to man all lanes 24-7, without any large-scale detection equipment that permits much faster inspections, without trusted shipper and trusted traveler programs, and without ways to sort out what trucks or people are potential risks—and the vast majority, which are not.

In short, we saw what happens without a “smart border” strategy.

It was also apparent that smarter borders meant not putting all our security eggs at our mutual border, at the official crossings.

Smarter borders meant better securing against what and who enters our two countries from abroad, and building a mutual security zone for the external borders of the U.S. and Canada. And we are doing just that.

And with the Security and Prosperity Partnership—“SPP”—we are building a North American Security Zone—to go along with our economic initiatives that started with NAFTA, based on smart border initiatives pioneered between Canada and the United States.

Indeed, since 9/11, Canada and the U.S. have led the way in developing and implementing initiatives to secure and facilitate the supply chain, and in developing and implementing trusted, vetted trade and traveler programs, and in partnering with the private sector along the way to accomplish the “Twin Goals” of security and facilitation.

How We Did It: Shared Border Accord Process

We have done an amazing amount, together, to operationalize and implement the Ridge-Manley Smart Border Accord’s Action Items.

But, let me say a word about one of the most important processes we used to achieve so much, so quickly—that is, the Shared Border Accord (SBA) and its SBA Coordinating Committee.

This is the group that is made up of the border agencies of Canada and the United States—initially U.S. Customs and the INS, and CCRA and CIC.

As a result of our two countries reorganization from two to one agency to manage the border for all purposes, the two principal SBA agencies now are U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which has all the Customs authorities, but also now all border immigration control, agricultural border inspection, and even the Border Patrol between the ports of entry, on the one hand—and the Canada Border Services Agency—CBSA—which consolidated all customs and frontline immigration at Canada’s ports of entry.

The SBA has met every quarter since 9/11. It is for principals and key staff. In fact, President Jolicouer and I are set to meet again next month here in Washington. I have attended every one of the SBA meetings.

There have been—and are—bi-national working groups under the SBA that are responsible for seeing that action items are implemented in a timely way, and reporting back to me and Commissioner Wright, and now President Jolicouer of the CBSA.

That’s how we have been able to get things done.

The SBA actually existed before 9/11. It is a creation of NAFTA. But before 9/11, it met infrequently and accomplished very little.

We’ve involved the private sector informally along the way, and even formally through the BINAC—the joint Bi-national Consultation Committee—with key representatives of the private sector on both sides of the border.

The SBA is the process that has developed and driven implementation of the Smart Border initiatives.

Let me review a few of them.

FAST

I’ll start with FAST—the Free and Secure Trade Initiative.

FAST was one of the Smart Border Action Items. It didn’t exist before 9/11.

FAST adds security to the supply chain because it involves key participants in the supply chain—the importer, the trucking company, and the truck driver—all must be C-TPAT certified and meet minimum C-TPAT security standards. The truck drivers are vetted, as well.

But if all three “green lights” are there, the shipment gets the “FAST” treatment, expedited processing and clearance across the border.

At Port Huron, Michigan, where we have a FAST lane across the Bluewater Bridge, it’s the difference between an hour or two—and 5 minutes. Actually, processing time for a FAST shipment at the primary inspection booth is an average of just 17 seconds.

FAST has added security to the movement of goods across our border. But importantly, it has improved the speed and efficiency of clearance processing.

Right now, FAST is operational at 18 ports of entry, including Detroit/Windsor, Blaine (Washington), and the Bluewater Bridge at Port Huron/Sarnia. These are all ports of entry with significant commercial truck traffic.

We have FAST primary lanes at many our northern border ports of entry. And, the FAST program has vetted and enrolled more than 62,000 truck drivers and over 2,000 trucking companies are C-TPAT certified. 77,000 tractors use transponders for FAST processing.

And we are looking to increase participation in FAST southbound by allowing Canadian manufacturers to become C-TPAT members and hope that FAST northbound will be expanded by CBSA by increasing the number of Canadian importers that are eligible to participate—companies that meet supply chain security criteria.

In other words, by allowing Canadian importers that are certified as meeting minimum supply chain security standards of CBSA’s Partnership in Protection (PIP), which is akin to CBP’s C-TPAT, to be eligible for FAST processing.

NEXUS

The second initiative I want to mention is NEXUS.

NEXUS was also an SBA Action Item.

Canada and the U.S. have the world’s best examples of bi-national programs for vetted low risk travelers—NEXUS. This is a bi-national initiative that works both ways to expedite trusted and vetted travelers across our mutual border.

We have nearly 80,000 U.S. and Canadian citizens enrolled in NEXUS and have 11 NEXUS lanes at ports of entry, like Blaine, Buffalo, Champlain, and Detroit. These trusted travelers move quickly across the border because they have been run through the criminal and terrorist indices of both countries, and have had a personal interview before being enrolled. We know who they are—and based on the vetting—we are comfortable that they pose no terrorist or smuggling threat to our countries.

We have built upon the NEXUS concept and launched NEXUS-AIR. This was truly led by Canada and CBSA. But, it is the same principle, vetted and enrolled NEXUS passengers get expedited customs and immigration processing from the U.S. to Canada—and from Canada to the U.S.

Since we have pre-clearance at nearly all Canadian airports to the U.S., CBP does its expediting at pre-clearance. The program uses a biometric to identify NEXUS-AIR passengers, currently an IRIS scan. But it could be two index finger scans. This will be decided later. NEXUS-AIR is being piloted at Vancouver international airport.

Last December, I’m proud to say, that the first NEXUS-AIR passengers traveled to the U.S. This is the first bi-national program that provides expedited entry processing of pre-approved, no-risk air passengers between any two countries, that I’m aware of. And, NEXUS-AIR is a potential model for other countries that want to implement similar bi-national programs.

So, why not apply NEXUS to the water—to pleasure boaters, you might ask? We are. We are piloting NEXUS-MARINE currently at—and near—the Detroit River area. It will be expanded to the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and Puget Sound.

And finally, with Canada, we are committed to integrating our various NEXUS programs. NEXUS for one, NEXUS for all.

NEXUS vetting and enrollment for one NEXUS program will make a person eligible for all NEXUS programs—land, air and water.

In-Transit Container Security

The principles of the In-Transit Container Security between Canada and the U.S.—advance information, risk assessment for high-risk containers from the point of view of potential terrorist threat, the host nation screening of those high-risk containers through large scale-x-ray and for radiation—these became the core elements of the Container Security Initiative—or CSI.

Indeed, the In-Transit Container Security Initiative, another Smart Border Accord Action Item, was the precursor of CSI. The “Container Security Initiative” was an outgrowth of one of the Smart Border Accord Action Items. The action item was to target and do security inspections of high-risk cargo containers that were off loaded at Canadian seaports, in transit, to the U.S. at the Canadian seaport. And vice versa.

By March 2002, Canadian Customs—now CBSA—sent inspectors to the Ports of Newark and Seattle and Tacoma and the U.S. sent small teams of inspectors to Halifax, Vancouver, and Montreal to target high-risk in-transit cargo. It was done on a handshake—but it was done.

CSI, which followed the In-Transit Container Initiative, is now operational in 38 of the largest seaports in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

CSI permits us to use advance information, to identify potentially risky cargo containers and have them inspected, rapidly by the host nation. CSI protects vital trade lanes from terrorist attack or exploitation and provides a network of security for the maritime movement of goods. At the same time, CSI holds the potential for moving goods through CSI ports faster and more predictably than oceangoing cargo moved before 9/11.

But even better news for North American security, Canada has agreed to partner with the U.S. in CSI, and this partnership in CSI will add to the security of both our countries.

The more security measures we both move away from our borders, the more we can leverage our mutual resources, and the less we have to do at our borders, especially our mutual border.

I have only scratched the surface of what Canada and the U.S. have accomplished, but I believe that by any measure of actual, honest-to-goodness action between two countries, it is nothing short of extraordinary.

Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)

Our next group of action items—and our next challenge—is embracing the goals of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and folding the goals that relate to border management and mutual security into our Shared Border Accord process.

We have begun to do that.

And under U.S. and Canadian leadership, we are internationalizing our key bi-national “smart border” initiatives beyond North America—to other countries around the world.

We are doing that through the World Customs Organization’s WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade that was approved by the WCO last June.

I’m pleased to say that since the WCO Framework was approved on June 23—79 member countries have signed on—and declared their intent to implement the Framework. That’s 79 of the 166 members of the WCO—almost half.

But, the hard part now is the implementation of the Framework, and we have begun to put the infrastructure in place for its implementation.

This Framework has the potential to revolutionize both the security of trade and to dramatically improve the efficiency of moving goods across our borders. The WCO Framework is nothing less than a global strategy that all nations can join in order to combat global terrorism, to protect trade, and the global economy. Broadly implemented, the Framework holds the promise of also moving trade more predictably and efficiently than ever before.

Again, security and facilitation.

For Customs administrations around the world, the implementation of the WCO Framework will lead to reform and modernization, as they transform the way they do business to meet the Framework’s standards for integrity and risk management.

It provides a new level of partnership and interconnectedness between Customs administrations that join the Framework—and between Customs agencies and the international trading community.

And for many in this audience—for the trade—the Framework has clear benefits, namely:

• The ability to deal with Customs Administrations committed to transparency, integrity, and partnership with the private sector trading community;
• One common set of global standards and principles that define information requirements needed for security. Not multiple and different standards;
• Reduced inspections for companies—secure economic operators—meeting minimum supply chain security criteria and joining into a customs industry partnership contemplated by the Framework; and
• The Framework means that nations will perform outbound antiterrorism security inspections at the receiving nation’s request, which should result in faster clearance when the goods reach the importing country.

The U.S. will be working with Canada, Japan and other developed countries to find funding and deliver capacity building assistance to those developing countries that truly have the political will to implement the Framework and professionalize their customs authorities.

We have done a lot.

But we are not done.

I believe that we still have work to do and one of the key elements of our strategy—the security of our two nations against terrorists and terrorist weapons, and that is the North American Security Zone—the Security partnership of SPP, if you will.

Here, we have also done much bilaterally.

• We have harmonized our security approach, and we are better benchmarking how we go about better securing the movement of goods and people into our respective countries.
• We both require advance electronic manifest information for oceangoing cargo containers headed to our respective seaports.
• We both have automated targeting or risk management systems for these cargo container shipments and evaluate all containers for risk. We do so at CBP’s National Targeting Center in Virginia—Canada, CBSA, through its NRAC—National Risk Assessment Center in Ottawa.
• We both require advance passenger information of all people flying into our respective international airports, before passengers arrive.
• We have exchanged our terrorist watchlists, and actively exchange information and intelligence about the global terrorists threat.

We still need to better harmonize the list of visa waiver and visa exempt countries. While we have made some progress, we are far from convergence. Perhaps we need to look to the Australia Advance Passenger Processing System—sort of a visa light, if you will, that would make it easier, potentially, for Canada and the U.S. to harmonize their approaches. APP would eliminate the political difficulties and eliminate visa waiver or exemption status from a country.

We have mapped out our two countries’ visa issuance policy and procedures, but we have to benchmark more closely—if we are both to feel comfortable about who we are allowing in. This requires further work, but is quite important to North American security.

A few weeks ago, I visited our new joint port of entry at Oroville, Washington. We jointly built the buildings and it straddles the 49th Parallel. This is our 6th joint facility. We should build more joint ports of entry where we can. It enhances the mutual security of our frontline officers and builds closer working relationships between CBP and CBSA.

I continue to believe, and I speak for myself, not the Department of Homeland Security, that we should figure out a way to do “reverse inspections” at our major bridge crossings. This would mean that CSBA officers would be stationed on the U.S. side of the major bridges between our two countries, and CBP Officers would be stationed on the Canadian side. This would provide significantly additional security for those four bridges that carry the majority of commerce between our two countries.

The rub is: we need to find a way to do this where each side has the same legal authority, as if they were where they are now. The British and French have figured out how to do this under their “Chunnel” Agreement. We haven’t.

But, let me not obscure how much we have accomplished since 9/11 in literally re-inventing our border and how we think about the border. There has been—and is—a lot of “outside the box” thinking and implementation.

How much the Canadian and U.S. governments have accomplished in partnership with the private sector, to better manage, secure and facilitate the movement of goods and people across our mutual border is truly extraordinary.

I am glad to have participated in this re-invention of our borders, in making our borders smarter.

Thanks for inviting me to speak with you about how we have done it.

Commissioner Bonner reserves the right to edit his written remarks during his oral presentation and to speak extemporaneously. His actual remarks, as given, therefore, may vary somewhat from the written text.