How do you build a “culture of trade compliance” in your organization? You might as well ask, “How do you eat an elephant?” In both cases, the answer is seemingly simple, yet also complex – one bite at a time. A quick search for “culture of compliance” on the internet yields thousands of scholarly and…
Let’s assume that you’re traveling internationally with your ITAR-controlled product and you have a valid DSP-73 license in place. (If I’ve already lost you with that sentence, then please skip the rest of this article and schedule a no-charge consultation with us today.) Requirement Area What the Requirement Says Why It Matters / Key Risk…
EAR- Don’t Forget About The De Minimis Rule One of the lesser-understood rules in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), is the de minimis rule, which determines whether foreign-made products that incorporate U.S.-controlled content are subject to the EAR. While making international trade easier and better defining the jurisdiction and classification of items, the Export Control…
Looking for someone to conduct a gap analysis of your trade compliance activities? Consultants come in all shapes and sizes, with various backgrounds, skills and expertise. But not all consultants (or their assessments) are created equal! Before you give that consultant a green light, make sure you have a thorough understanding of what they’ll be…
You may find your customers asking if your products qualify for NAFTA or if you can provide a NAFTA certificate. The logical questions that follow are: “What is NAFTA?” and “What is a NAFTA certificate?” In this blog, we’ll provide a basic overview of NAFTA in order to help with your understanding of this topic….
HTS Chapter 98 And Your Business Savings and more savings on duties and fees are available for exporters who import their U.S. goods back into the United States. These savings are not BOGO (buy one, get one). Rather, they are for all U.S. goods returned (and some Non-U.S. goods). Have you ever reviewed Chapter 98…
In my last blog article, we examined the Specially Designed Decision Tool. Today, we will explore the new “Catch and Release” concept when determining if a product meets the definition of “Specially Designed.” First, here is the definition in the current ITAR. [My Notes will be in brackets, boldface, and Italics. All underlines are my…
This is part of a series of blog articles titled The Automation Dilemma, which highlights some of the common “do’s and don’ts” when automating your company’s export compliance process. Be sure to read Article #1, Article #2, and Article #3 for all the posts in this series. Continuing with The Automation Dilemma series, I thought…
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division has a new training video which is designed to help you find the correct Schedule B export codes for your products. This brief tutorial, called “Classifying Your Commodity” covers some of the basics that every trade compliance specialist should know. (For example: “What is a Harmonized Code?” and…
There’s nothing like the recent case of major freight forwarding companies being added to the EPLS to bring home the importance of denied parties screening for your company. I’ve been involved with many clients’ denied parties list (DPL) screening programs for a number of years, and it’s easy to be lulled into a sense of…