Category: Customs Compliance

Business Has Changed, It’s Time For Trade Compliance To Change, Too As the business world adapts to face masks, Zoom calls and social distancing, the trade compliance community is also re-evaluating the way it does business. While a lot has changed in your business, one thing that is certain to change – and, in fact,…

No one wants to really talk about trade compliance or acknowledge if it is lacking or non-existent. Not only is trade compliance an overwhelming and complicated mix of regulations, it is also something that puts most people to sleep! Often times employees think someone else is handling import compliance, but nobody is fully dedicated to…

During tough economic times with layoffs, downsizing and budget cuts, companies look for ways to save money and deliver results more efficiently. Like other aspects of your business, you might be in a position where you need to find ways to cut costs while maintaining a high level of standards for your import and export…

This past week, the Trump administration announced a ban on exports of certain types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in response to the COVID-19 crisis.  The new rule became effective immediately and will last four months (until August 8, 2020). While this type of activity is unusual due to its breadth and scope, those of…

I feel like it was just 1994 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was ratified and I was hitting the road advising importers how to take advantage of the duty-free provisions. What a feat! U.S. industry had to learn the Rules of Origin, Tariff Shifts, Regional Value Content requirements and how to complete…

Appropriate to the Season and to something that should stay with us all throughout the year… On the first day of Christmas my company gave to me- A Management Compliance Policy which establishes my management’s and my company’s commitment to export compliance; On the second day of Christmas my company gave to me- An Export…

It’s almost Thanksgiving and when I think Thanksgiving, I think about traditions. Truthfully, no one in my family even likes turkey and we’ve discussed deviating from eating it every year, but we just can’t do it! Why? Tradition! We have all kinds of traditions at this time of year: fighting over (ahem, I mean breaking)…

In a September blog “INCOTERMS, They are a-changing” , we discussed what potential changes could occur during the review process of INCOTERMS 2010 by the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”). The ICC has now released the latest revisions, which they believe will help simplify the responsibilities of the buyer and the seller in a trade…

In a previous blog, we discussed the concept of “reasonable care” as it applies to your trade compliance program.  The focus was how export and import programs dovetail with many other areas of compliance, such as policies and procedures, valuation, Free Trade Agreements, and more.  Today, I’d like to switch gears and talk about how…

Within a few short weeks, the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) will release the much-anticipated INCOTERMS 2020 and, as it did in 2010, the publication of the ICC decisions will change the landscape of international trade.  As you may remember, the INCOTERMS were reduced from thirteen (13) to eleven (11) with the 2010 revisions. While…