see also: in June 2002:   West Texas/New Mexico Customs Officers Seize 5,279 Pounds of Marijuana This Week   Arizona Customs Officers Seize 3,246 Pounds of Marijuana This Week   World Customs Organization Adopts Elements of U.S. Customs Container Security Initiative to Protect, Enhance Global Trade   Le Havre Seaport Joins U.S. Customs Container Security Initiative Against Terrorism   U.S. Customs Cracks Money Laundering Ring That Moved Half A Billion Dollars in Eight Months   U.S. Customs Names New Chief of Staff   Seaport of Antwerp Joins U.S. Customs Container Security Initiative Against Terrorism ...more on cbp.gov:   CSI: Container Security Initiative

contacts for this news release

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Robert Bonner, Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service, and Gerrit Zalm, the Dutch Minister of Finance, today announced that the government of the Netherlands has agreed to participation of its Rotterdam Seaport in the U.S. Customs Container Security Initiative (CSI).

The CSI is a U.S. Customs initiative designed to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers to inflict harm on America and other nations of the world. Rotterdam is the first port in Europe to announce participation in CSI.

"I applaud the Dutch government for joining the U.S. Customs Service Container Security Initiative," said U.S. Customs Commissioner Bonner. "This important first agreement in Europe will provide a significant measure of security for the Netherlands, the United States, and the global trading system as a whole."

Deputy Dutch Customs Commissioner Helma Nepperus said: "Signing the declaration of principles is an acknowledgment of the quality of the port of Rotterdam and the work of Customs in Rotterdam. Dutch Customs is aware of the importance of cooperation with U.S. Customs in gaining better control of the transportation of goods meant for terrorist purposes."

According to U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Clifford Sobel: "Today's agreement marks a new era in cooperation between Dutch Customs and the U.S. Customs Service. The collaboration between Dutch and U.S. officials under this accord will help secure the global trading system."

Launched by U.S. Customs in January 2002, the CSI is designed to enhance the security of global maritime shipping, a vital link in world commerce. Some 200 million sea cargo containers move annually among the world's top seaports, and nearly 50 percent of the value of all U.S. imports arrives via sea cargo containers every year.

One element of CSI involves placing U.S. Customs inspectors at foreign seaports to target and pre-screen U.S.-bound cargo containers before they are shipped to America. U.S. Customs officials, working with their foreign counterparts, will be in a position to detect Weapons of Mass Destruction or other contraband at these foreign ports. Since roughly 68 percent of the 5.7 million sea containers entering the U.S. annually arrive from 20 foreign seaports, Customs is initially focusing on these "mega" ports as chokepoints in the global trading system.

Under the agreement reached today, Rotterdam becomes the CSI's first pilot port in Europe. U.S. Customs will place a small team of Customs inspectors in Rotterdam equipped with U.S. targeting databases. They will work jointly with Dutch Customs officers to target sea containers that are bound for America. Dutch Customs officers, assisted by U.S. Customs officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential risk.

The port of Rotterdam ranks as one of the largest in the world. The port of Rotterdam handles more than 300 million tons of goods per year and more than 6 million containers. Last year, approximately 291,000 sea cargo containers entered the U.S. from Rotterdam.

The accord reached with the Netherlands represents the first agreement that U.S. Customs has completed with a European government under the CSI. In March, U.S. Customs and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency agreed to exchange inspectors at select seaports to prescreen containers bound for each nation. Teams of U.S. Customs inspectors were placed at the Canadian seaports of Montreal, Halifax, and Vancouver to prescreen cargo that is offloaded at these ports and bound for the United States. Canadian Customs placed its own inspectors at the U.S. seaports of Seattle/Tacoma and Newark to prescreen cargo that is offloaded at these ports and bound for Canada.

The U.S. Customs Service is currently in discussions with several other nations, including countries in Europe and Asia, about forming similar partnerships under CSI.