Yet, in January 2009, CBP on behalf of the OFO-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP will conduct their field test of only a single source provider (GE) of radio frequency CSDs with shipping containers crossing the U.S. Mexican border. It does this while knowing the failure of RFID usage in the North American Trade Prototype tests done in the mid 1990s. It has excluded other technology and is testing a sole-source RFID system only, even though a firm employing a container satellite system has offered to participate in the pilot at only the cost of some travel and the cost of the container satellite units needed for and utilized in the field test. The satellite security firm would provide volunteer C-TPAT certified Mexican shippers and carriers without cost to the pilot or CBP. Yet, there has been no response by CBP to the offering of a head-to-head comparison of RFID and Satellite, this in the face of Mexicos own interests in seeing a satellite container security system, and at the official request in writing of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives to modify the pilot by accommodating the request of the satellite security system firm.

Does CBP really not want to know what other systems can do? Is its choice of a single-source product political? If not political, did CBP not know of the differences between RFID and Satellite? Does not CBP know of the movements in the EU, and China in recognizing the obvious superiority of satellite monitoring and control? Certainly, CBP knows of GMs Onstar capabilities with automobiles. Or can it not relate the concept of Onstar and container security? It is a mystery to many in and out of Congress why CBP does what it does, or fails to do what it should in the area of container security. It is clearly behind the rest of the trading world in this regard. There is certainly a challenge for the new Administration to improve CBPs level of awareness in this area.