INTERNATIONAL TRADE : Toshiba Unit in Irvine Aiding Pilot Project to Reduce Red Tape

Importers and exporters can get so mired in customs documentation that they spend more time filling out forms than trading products with other nations.

Toshiba America Electronic Components in Irvine is part of a test group that could ease the laborious process. The U.S. Customs Service has been using the company in a program that allows cargo to move across international borders without the usual avalanche of paper.

Toshiba America, a maker of picture tubes, is one of 65 U.S. companies testing the electronic filing program that permits the rapid, almost paperless flow of goods.

The Pre-Importation Review Program, as Customs calls the new system, “permits us to achieve cost savings and virtually same-day customs clearance for our products, something we would have (never) thought possible a year ago,” said Laurie J. Peach, the company’s traffic manager. “It also improves our competitiveness.”