FAST - Free and Secure Trade

Program Expedites Processing in a Designated Lane at Bridge of the Americas

September 1, 2004 -- For the past ten years, the Foreign Trade Association has pursued Public/Private Initiatives to enhance cross border movement of people, goods and services in the El Paso/ Cd. Juarez region. Such partnerships resulted in the rebuilding of the 10-lane Bridge of the Americas, and the opening of a Dedicated Commuter Lane (DCL) in 1999. As a consequence of the concerns to secure our national borders following the 9/11 attack on the United States, the Foreign Trade Association (FTA) aggressively pursued and achieved a demonstration project, in the Fall of 2002, for expedited processing of secure shipments from Cd. Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, Texas. Since September 2003 this Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lane project has emerged as the first expedited and secure lane on the US-Mexico border, with approximately 360 trucks per day now crossing.

The FAST (Southern Border) program aims to increase the integrity of supply chain security by offering pre-clearance to carriers and importers. The initiative seeks to expedite the clearance of trans-border shipments of compliant partners by reducing Customs information requirements, dedicating lanes at major crossings to FAST participants, using common technology and physically examining cargo transported by these low risk clients with minimal frequency. The use of the FAST lane requires that the Shipper, Carrier and Commercial Drivers be enrolled in Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

The FTA, in partnership with U.S. Congressman Sylvestre Reyes, Cd. Juarez’s Coalicion Empresarial Prolibre Comerico (CELC – Northern Mexico BASC Chapter-Business Anti-Smuggling Coalition) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs Border Protection Agency, have made a concerted effort to enroll multinational manufacturers into FAST (Southern Border). The FTA sponsored briefings in El Paso and Cd. Juarez in order to orient companies as to the requirements and enrollment process. A key component that the trade community emphasized for incorporation into the plan, which was essential in the planning for the SENTR Lane, was the dedicated approach to the Bridge on the Mexican side. It was believed that expedited clearance in the U.S. import lot, would not be sufficient if trucks were in a long queue on the Mexican side, awaiting access to the Bridge. The extraordinary cooperation of the Mexican Aduana in achieving this goal has been one of the achievements of the U.S./ Mexico Smart Border Plan.

By means of a FAST steering committee, which meets weekly, the trade community continues to work on additional services such as obtaining the use of the FAST Lane on Saturdays and opening a FAST/Super-booth at El Paso’s Southeast commercial crossing, the Zaragoza Bridge in the Spring of 2004. The current focus is to have the FAST Lane open 24 hours.