FACTBOX: Bush panel recommends import safety steps

(Reuters) - A Bush administration panel on Tuesday recommended ways to improve the safety of food and other products entering the United States.

Last year, the United States imported nearly $2 trillion In goods through more than 825,000 importers, and the value of imports is expected to triple by 2015.

Following are highlights of the import safety plan prepared by a panel led by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt:

* Strengthen the safety certification process and give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to require that producers of high-risk foods in a particular country must certify that their products meet FDA standards.

* Encourage industries to adopt "best practices" that will improve consumer safety and provide incentives for importers to maintain high standards for products that carry the greatest risks.

* Increase transparency by making public the names of certified producers and importers of record.

* Share real-time import compliance data with U.S. Customs, other federal agencies and key foreign governments to make better decisions about rejecting or allowing import shipments to enter the United States.

* Increase the U.S. product safety presence overseas by offering training to foreign inspection agencies and ensuring compliance with U.S. standards.

* Ask Congress to give U.S. safety and inspection agencies more authority to strengthen standards.

* Boost penalties against both foreign and domestic companies to discourage the sale of unsafe products.

Details about the recommendations are posted on the Internet at www.importsafety.gov .

(Reporting by Julie Vorman)