As we think about the future of Customs, I believe it is fair to say:

Customs – Customs Administrations—throughout the world are at a crossroads. The World Customs Organization is at a crossroad.

How does Customs stay relevant and important in the 21st Century? How do Customs agencies assume a role of even greater importance within their nations?

The Terrorist Threat
The role of Customs and the WCO in the 21st century ought to be viewed in light of the environment of the 21st century. This is time of global challenges, of difficult issues, but it is also a time of great opportunity for Customs Administrations and the WCO. When we talk about the challenges, one of these is, as Secretary General Danet pointed out yesterday, the global terrorist threat. This is a threat that affects and impacts on all nations and all regions.

Over the last decade, a relatively small but committed group of international terrorists have emerged. From Africa to Asia to America to Europe, it is clear that no region of the world is immune from their attacks and their impact. Terrorists, largely Al Qaeda and its associated offshoots, have become global in scope, and the very real threat that we all face today is that they will exploit the system of global trade to carry out further attacks. Again, as Mr. Danet noted, such an attack could have a severe impact on global trade and to the world economy.

It is in light of this environment that Customs and the WCO must decide – will we go beyond the limited role of collector of duties and consumption taxes? Will we move beyond the other more traditional Customs roles of interdicting illegal drugs, contraband and counterfeit goods? That is to say: Will Customs Administrations and the WCO take on a larger, more strategic role in the security and facilitation of global trade? Going even further, should Customs assume greater authority in border control and management, e.g., take on all border control functions for the movement of goods and people?

The Traditional and Evolving Roles of Customs
Over the last few days, during the Policy Commission meetings, some of my colleagues suggested that Customs does not or should not play a role in the fight against terrorism. I disagree. I suggest that Customs can and logically should play a very significant role in this worldwide battle. Inherent in the authority of our Customs Administrations are authorities that exist no where else in government – the authority to inspect what comes into and leaves our countries – the authority to control and manage our borders.

Historically, this authority or competency has been exercised to collect duties and revenues, prevent the entry of illegal drugs and other contraband from being smuggled into our countries, to enforce intellectual property rights by seizing counterfeit and pirated goods, to regulate trade, and detect trade fraud. But these Customs authorities and our Customs expertise can be used for more, -- they can be used to enhance border security and facilitation – to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from penetrating our borders, but at the same time achieving this higher level of antiterrorism security without impeding the flow of legitimate trade.

One of the best ways to prevent terrorist attacks is to prevent terrorists or terrorist weapons from entering our nations in the first instance. Unquestionably, at the borders, there is an opportunity to identify and interdict terrorists and terrorist weapons before they enter. And, Customs can do this even better by going beyond the traditional Customs missions to take a more holistic view of our borders and of border enforcement, -- to be able to improve security and facilitation, not just of the movement of goods, but of the movement of people as well.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection
So, with that in mind, I want to speak to you about what we have done in the United States to broaden and expand Customs’ role, particularly in light of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, in light of the rise of global terrorism. I would like to tell you about what steps we have taken to make our borders and ports more effective and efficient.

As many of you know, one step my country has recently taken is the major reorganization of our national government to better deal with the threat of terrorism. That led over a year ago to establishing a new department of government, a new ministry: The Department of Homeland Security.

As part of that reorganization, United States Customs (along with several other agencies) were transferred to this new Department. In the case of my agency, U.S. Customs, we were transferred from the Department of the Treasury, where U.S. Customs had been from the founding of the American Republic over 220 years ago, to the Department of Homeland Security.

Importantly, at the time of this transfer all other border agencies and their personnel and functions were transferred to and merged with United States Customs – to create a single agency called United States Customs and Border Protection, that is one agency to manage, control and secure our borders, and all of our ports of entry – all our airports, seaports and our entire land borders, including all official crossings and points in between.

To create U.S. Customs and Border Protection, nearly 16 months ago on March 1, 2003, we merged all of the Immigration inspectors and the Agriculture inspectors at our ports of entry – and the entire Border Patrol – our border police between the official ports of entry – with and into U.S. Customs, to establish a single, unified border agency to 42,000 employees. The 42,000 employees of Customs and Border Protection represent almost ¼ of all the personnel of the Department of Homeland Security. Not surprising, when you consider how important security of our borders is to security of our “Homeland” – the security of the interior of the United States.

With this merger, every person, shipment, vehicle and aircraft – in short, everyone and everything – entering the United States must be cleared by Customs and Border Protection for all purposes. Customs and Border Protection officers use all of the technology, advanced information, sophisticated targeting and selectivity systems, training and combined Customs and Immigration authorities to better identify and interdict passengers and cargo that pose a potential terrorist threat. Combined with the Border Patrol who work to prevent illegal entries between the ports of entry, CBP is able, for the first time in our Nation's history, to take a total, comprehensive view of border security. This merger of Immigration and all border control functions with Customs – to create a single border agency had been advocated for in the United States for 30 years. But unfortunately, it took the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and, actually, the threat of further larger scale attacks to make it happen.

Increased Securities and Efficiencies
At the ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is capitalizing on the merger to improve security as well as realize the opportunity to create efficiencies in our border processes. We are creating, as DHS Secretary Ridge has called it, “One Face at the Border,” one border agency, by unifying inspectional and border functions and personnel.

Priority Mission
The priority mission of Customs and Border Protection is preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States. But we retain all the traditional Customs mission of:

1. collecting duties;
2. regulating trade;
3. interdicting illegal drugs, contraband and pirated and counterfeited goods – and arresting smugglers;
4. imposing penalties for trade fraud and misrepresentations regarding, e.g. country of origin, and
5. facilitating trade.

We also have traditional missions of frontline Immigration, e.g., determining the admissibility of people seeking to enter the U.S. and arresting people unlawfully crossing our borders. We even have the traditional Agriculture border function, viz., preventing the entry of pests and disease injurious to the American Agriculture industry and the environment.

I can tell you that we are already more effective and efficient in performing our priority and traditional missions, certainly more effective than we were before March 1, 2003, when these functions were divided into 4 different U.S. agencies in 3 separate departments of our government.

As a result of the creation of one border agency, in March of last year, I designated one Port Director for each of the 317 ports of entry into the United States—not 2 or 3 as before.

At the ports of entry, I established one, new uniform for Customs and Border Protection officers – replacing 3 different uniforms before the creation of Customs and Border Protection. All 20,000 CBP inspectors will be in the new uniform next month. 90% already are.

Last year, we began unified primary, which means that visitors to the U.S. will no longer have to run the gauntlet of three different inspectional agencies upon arrival at U.S. airports. “Unified primary” means that CBP officers in the primary booths conduct the primary inspection for all purposes – Immigration, Customs, Agriculture and anti-terrorism.

We are also implementing combined antiterrorism secondary inspections that leverage the expertise and authorities of both Customs and Immigration to conduct joint antiterrorism inspections of passengers that are high-risk for terrorism.

In the cargo environment, we have created a single release mechanism so that importers no longer face the potential of multiple holds on cargo due to both Customs and Agriculture concerns.

These are just a few of the efficiencies we have realized as a single, unified, and all-purpose border agency.

Should other Customs administrations take on such an expanded role? Is this the wave of the future? Is the future for Customs Administrations in the 21st Century? I don’t know. But I can say that Canada has also unified its frontline Customs and Immigration personnel and functions. But leaving aside whether immigration and all border functions should be merged with Customs, let me say that all Customs Administrations right now can and should be involved in the security and facilitation of global trade.

I have often said that security and facilitation are twin goals, that in light of today’s global economy, we need not and should not sacrifice one of these goals for the other.

Indeed, I believe in the value of smart and extended border initiatives to achieve these twin goals; initiatives such as the Container Security Initiative, the Custom-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, the 24-Hour Rule and advance electronic information rules, risk management and targeting and the use of non-intrusive inspection technologies to inspect more quickly. All of these initiatives, initiatives that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has implemented in the past 2 ½ years, are made possible by Customs competencies. These are the stuff to create smarter and more secure borders, to more quickly target and screen high-risk cargo. These CBP initiatives have led to more predictable and more efficient movement of low risk goods and travelers.

Conclusion
Let me conclude my remarks by underscoring a point I made earlier about border protection in the 21st Century: We are reinventing our borders. We are reinventing the way we manage the borders. The way we think about the “border.” We are creating "smarter," more secure and more efficient borders.

This is, I believe, the wave of the future. This represents a broader, more vigorous role for all Customs Administrations to play. Yes, capacity building is a need and an element for those developing countries that have the political will, and that want to join smart border programs like:

1. Customs Industry partnerships for security and facilitation of global trade based on common standards or norms, and
2. Customs to Customs cooperation to better protect the movement of goods by use of a common risk management approach, for both inbound and outbound cargo shipments, and the use of the advance information and conducting inspections using NII and radiation detection technology.

I believe that the World Customs Organizations can and should lead the way to improved security and facilitation of global trade and is the standards or norms to be used by willing Customs administrations. The WCO can establish the framework, needed, and thereby establish its leadership as we move into the 21st Century.

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