FAST, an acronym for Free and Secure Trade between the United States and Canada, is an expedited-clearance system designed to improve border security without slowing the flow of legitimate trade. The initiative builds on the same concepts that drove the rapid, post-9/11 construction and implementation of the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), efforts that reflect Commissioner Bonner's early commitment to protecting U.S. industry from the economic repercussions of 9/11.

"America and Canada face new threats to our security," President Bush told the audience at the September 9 event. "It's the new reality of the 21st century, and we can't forget that. Some of those threats must be stopped at our borders. This great and peaceful border must be open to business, must be open to people - and it's got to be closed to terrorists and criminals."

Commissioner Bonner and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge shared the stage with President Bush as he outlined the benefits of the new program. A number of corporate leaders and trade officials were also in the audience, reassured by the government's pledge to have the program up and running by Christmas. Since 9/11, U.S. industry, and automakers in particular, have been concerned that heightened security measures might impede manufacturing efforts on the Canadian side of the border.

Automakers who count on "Just in Time" inventories depend heavily on the flow of component parts across the U.S.-Canadian border, and in the days following the September 11 attack, bottlenecks at the border forced several smaller plants to shut down operations. As a result, the "Big Three" manufacturers - GM, Ford, and Chrysler - have been especially supportive of initiatives promising expeditious processing.

For Customs, avoiding gridlock on the northern border became a priority hours after collapse of the World Trade Center. Given the impact of the attacks on the airline industry, and the effect on the U.S. economy if the auto industry faltered, Customs officials and corporate leaders joined forces on September 15, meeting at the Customs Management Center (CMC) in Detroit to work on strategies for keeping transborder supply lines open.

The United States and Canada are working aggressively to get FAST up and running. The challenge, a daunting effort to capture and coordinate huge amounts of information, has both customs administrations focused on aligning their commercial programs. U.S. Customs and CCRA have also adopted a common approach to risk management, partnering with importers, shippers, freight-forwarders, and carriers who've demonstrated a history of compliance.

In return, these same companies must also prove their commitment to preserving the integrity of the supply chain management process by agreeing to use compatible and advanced technologies and to submit pertinent information to Customs well in advance of a shipment's arrival at a port. The private sector is moving quickly to accommodate their processes and technologies to the program's requirements, and Customs is pulling clients onboard with promises of technical support and advice.

Photo Credit: Gerald L. Nino

Prime Minister Chretien, President Bush, Canada Customs Superintendent Manon Toronyi, and U.S. Customs Inspector James Mayer view truck arrival primary processing screen for FAST.

FAST features
FAST is an ambitious program, both in terms of its scope and its implementation date, but for the U.S. and Canada, the initiative's five specific objectives promise to revolutionize the processing of transborder trade:

1. The program aims to increase the integrity of supply chain management by offering expedited clearance to carriers and importers enrolled in C-TPAT, or Canada's Partners in Protection (PIP).
2. It's designed to streamline and to integrate registration processes for drivers, carriers, and importers, minimizing paperwork and ensuring only low risk participants are enrolled as members.
3. The initiative seeks to expedite clearance of low risk transborder shipments by reducing Customs information requirements, dedicating lanes at major crossings to FAST participants, using common technology, and physically examining cargo transported by these low risk clients only when there's reason to believe not doing so would compromise security or safety.
4. The program is a catalyst for both organizations to integrate and enhance technologies - transponders employed on both sides of the border, for example - which would make it even easier to clear low risk shipments, and which would mitigate the cost of program participation for FAST partners.
5. FAST designers believe the initiative will create and support a dedicated corps of compliance account managers, Customs employees responsible for building and maintaining critical client partnerships and for monitoring compliance.

Common purpose, shared prosperity
What makes FAST different from previous initiatives on the northern border is the degree of coordination and cooperation between Canada and the U.S., especially in regard to data collection and sharing. In the past, U.S. Customs and CCRA collected one kind of data from importers, another kind from exporters. Under FAST, in many cases, companies will need to keep only one set of records instead of two. FAST also means brokers and importers in both countries will be operating under similar, all-electronic reporting requirements from purchase point to destination.

Very importantly, both U.S. and Canadian Customs have agreed on a goal the trade wholeheartedly supports. Somewhere down the road, after FAST is running smoothly, Customs may allow goods belonging to certified FAST participants to cross the border before it requires verification of the transaction, an historic achievement when measured against a 200 year old rule that has mandated transaction-by-transaction vetting at the border.

The most novel aspect of the new regime under FAST may be the way importers, carriers, and drivers enrolled in the program will be able to provide Customs with the information it needs, electronically, before a shipment arrives at the border.

When a truck loaded with goods arrives at a border crossing, Customs transponders will read an encoded number - 00196, for instance - encrypted on a bar-coded window sticker and relevant information identifying the carrier and his shipment will appear instantly on a split-screen belonging to a Customs inspector.

After the transponder picks up the carrier information, the driver will hold up a special "driver's card," also encoded with information, that tells the same Customs inspector, via the same split screen on his computer, exactly who the driver is, where he's been, and where he's going.

The minutes technology cuts off the process gives the Customs inspector more time to turn a practiced eye on both the driver and his vehicle, and to make the kind of personal, intuitive assessment that history tells us can make an important difference.

Trade facilitation pushes manufacturers toward in-house efficiencies
As cutting-edge as the new system appears to be for shippers, FAST holds another significant and often overlooked advantage for manufacturers - the opportunity for corporate computers to interface seamlessly with Customs systems so information can be transferred electronically and in standard format.

The extra time FAST will give importers and brokers to wrap up the intricate details that accompany the movement of goods through the supply chain encourages similar in-house efficiencies; in the past, even within the same company, computers had difficulty "talking" to one another. Now the push is on to make sure every computer involved in the process - whether it belongs to a company, a shipper, or to U.S. or Canadian Customs - is speaking the same language.

Corporate leaders say efficiencies like these translate into unanticipated, but welcome profits. Companies can still track, audit, and self-assess duties and taxes owed, but in certain cases, instead of racing to pay in five days, under FAST, they may be able to file in batches and pay monthly. The result? Significantly fewer corrections, fines, and penalties.

The U.S. and Canada have already established procedures for accepting FAST applications from importers. In October, the U.S. and Canada will begin to register carriers, and in December, they will offer pre-authorized drivers, carriers, and importers expedited customs clearance processes at Detroit/Windsor, Buffalo/Fort Erie, Buffalo/Queenston, Port Huron/Sarnia, Champlain/Lacolle, and Blaine/Douglas.

A company executive at Ford Motors speaks for business people everywhere when he cites the advantages of programs like FAST, initiatives that aim to ameliorate the effects of terrorism on trade by separating the administrative part of the shipping process from the logistical challenges: "All reconciliation is away from the border; if you happen to be off by a dollar on a part's value, the Customs booth is not the place to settle it."