A report regarding the effectiveness of U.S. Customs' Container Security Initiative (CSI) and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) programs, which was released by the Government Accounting Office, continues to generate much debate between lawmakers and other officials.

In particular, the congressional watchdog agency found that only 11 percent of traders approved for the program had been vetted by Customs, increasing the likelihood that terrorists could use the importer's supply chain to smuggle a weapon of mass destruction into the U.S.

Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Robert C. Bonner defended the programs, saying that America was safer because of them, yet acknowledged that there was still work to be done.

In the meantime, a former official with the Department of Homeland Security said that the time may have come to formalize some portions of C-TPAT as government regulation. The outcome for importers whose freight is subject to screening by either of these programs remains to be seen.