Secure Freight Initiative: Container Scanning Explained

The Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) was a U.S. government pilot program, launched in 2006, that tested whether 100% of U.S.-bound shipping containers could be scanned for radiation and dangerous materials at foreign ports before being loaded onto a vessel. It is best understood not as a rule you comply with today, but as the experiment behind one of the most ambitious — and never fully realized — cargo-security mandates in U.S. law. If you ship goods to or from the United States, the story of SFI explains why your containers are screened the way they are now.

What the Secure Freight Initiative Was

SFI was announced in December 2006 as a joint effort of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Energy, and the Department of State. The idea was to combine two technologies at foreign loading ports — radiation-detection equipment and large-scale X-ray or gamma-ray imaging — so that U.S.-bound containers could be checked overseas rather than only after arrival in a U.S. port.

The pilot ran at a small set of foreign ports, including Puerto Cortés in Honduras, Port Qasim in Pakistan, and Southampton in the United Kingdom. It was a feasibility test: could overseas scanning be done at scale, with acceptable cost and without choking the flow of trade?

Why It Exists: The SAFE Port Act and the 100% Scanning Mandate

SFI grew directly out of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (the SAFE Port Act), which directed the Department of Homeland Security to pilot 100% scanning of U.S.-bound containers. The following year, Congress went further. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 set a hard target: by July 2012, every U.S.-bound maritime container was to be scanned at a foreign port before loading. Crucially, the same law gave the DHS Secretary authority to waive the requirement and extend the deadline.

What Actually Happened to “100% Scanning”

The mandate was never met. Scanning every container overseas proved far more expensive and operationally disruptive than the law’s drafters assumed, and many foreign ports lacked the space, equipment, or willingness to do it.

As of mid-2026, the 100% maritime scanning mandate has still not been fully implemented. DHS has repeatedly invoked its waiver authority, taking the position that scanning every container overseas would be hugely expensive and would harm trade flow without a proportionate security gain.

How Cargo Is Actually Screened Today

Instead of scanning everything, CBP relies on a layered, risk-based approach built on data and targeting:

• Advance cargo data. Importers and carriers must file manifest and entry data before arrival, which CBP runs through its Automated Targeting System to flag higher-risk shipments.
• The Container Security Initiative (CSI). CBP officers stationed at major foreign ports work with host-country customs to pre-screen high-risk U.S.-bound containers.
• Trusted-trader programs. C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) gives vetted importers and carriers reduced scrutiny in exchange for documented supply-chain security.

The result is that a small share of containers is physically scanned, selected by risk, rather than the universal scanning SFI set out to test.

What This Means for Importers and Exporters

You will not “comply with SFI” as such, but its legacy shapes your obligations: accurate advance data, trusted-trader eligibility, and a clean security profile are what keep your cargo moving. Errors or gaps in your filings are what move a container from the fast lane into a hold for examination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Secure Freight Initiative still running?

The original SFI pilot wound down years ago. Its core goal — universal overseas scanning — was never adopted as a permanent, worldwide requirement. The risk-based screening programs that grew up alongside it, such as CSI and C-TPAT, remain in place.

Is 100% of U.S.-bound cargo scanned overseas?

No. Despite the 2007 statutory mandate, DHS has repeatedly waived the requirement, and as of 2026 full 100% overseas scanning has not been implemented. CBP screens cargo using risk-based targeting instead.

Does the Secure Freight Initiative affect exporters?

Indirectly. SFI was about inbound, U.S.-bound cargo, but exporters shipping to the U.S. — and any business in a global supply chain — are affected by the same security expectations: accurate documentation and participation in trusted-trader programs.

What replaced the idea of 100% scanning?

A layered, data-driven model: advance electronic cargo data, the Automated Targeting System, the Container Security Initiative at foreign ports, and trusted-trader programs like C-TPAT.

Reidel Law Firm helps importers and exporters build supply-chain compliance that holds up at the border — advance data, trusted-trader eligibility, and detention response. Our flat-fee import/export compliance memo gives you a written roadmap for keeping your cargo moving. Learn more about our international trade law practice.