WASHINGTON -- Importers that adhere to the very best security practices will get long-promised expedited clearance for their cargo before the end of the year, according to Robert C. Bonner, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

Bonner told reporters on Thursday that his agency plans to take its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism to a higher level by offering what he called "C-TPAT-Plus" companies that have gone beyond the minimal requirements for the anti-terror program immediate clearance of cargo on arrival in the U.S.

Bonner was the keynote speaker at the agency's fifth trade symposium.

"My vision is to provide them this year with the "green lane," and [that] means no inspections upon arrival, immediate release, because we have validated that they in fact are using the best supply-chain best practices," Bonner said.

Those practices include validated supply-chain security from the point of origin at a foreign manufacturer; the use of a "smart" container equipped with a high-security seal and internal sensors to detect tampering, and shipment through a port that participates in Customs' Container Security Initiative.

Those steps "sufficiently removes the risk, that we are better off devoting our inspectional resources to non-C-TPAT shipments, or less secure shipments," Bonner said. He declined to predict how many containers may get the green lane treatment by the end of the year. Importers may still have containers stopped for random inspections, or if there is tactical intelligence that a container should be inspected.

Participants in C-TPAT generally may expect to meet more demanding "security criteria," although Bonner avoided calling them standards. The agency released a new C-TPAT strategy, which has been derived in part from the draft standards that Customs began circulating among industry leaders last October.

However, Bonner that the C-TPAT benefits will increase along with the government's expectations. He said a C-TPAT company is six times less likely to have its cargo stopped for security, and four times less likely to be inspected for trade-compliance reasons than a non-C-TPAT company.

However, Bonner said that the total number of inspections conducted by Customs has risen significantly since Sept. 11, 2001. He admitted that this has caused misperceptions among importers that complain that they have failed to see fewer inspections in return for their investment in C-TPAT.

Bonner said that Customs will issue C-TPAT "annual statements" to participants to show financially how companies have benefited from the program.

R.G. Edmonson