Trade compliance audits can be scary, cumbersome and time-consuming. Why would any company subject itself to this? The importance of any import/export compliance audit is to avoid the dreaded “F&P” words. These are two words that most companies don’t want to hear … or even say (unless it’s behind closed doors). I’m talking about Fines…
Was your shipment one of the almost 4,300 to be detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for UFLPA enforcement since last June? If not, great! But don’t get too comfortable, either. UFLPA isn’t going anywhere, and perhaps rightfully so. This isn’t an enforcement deliberately meant to hurt U.S. importers. Instead, it boils down…
On December 23, 2021, President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law. This establishes a new rebuttable presumption that any goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China is produced by forced labor. This presumption prohibits the…
Why are Customs Regulations Important? US Customs at its core is the top law enforcement agency for America. It was established to help control the flow of goods and people in and out of the country. One of their main obligations is to collect duties and taxes on the merchandise that is imported. They also…
In response to a Final Rule published by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and effective in March 2020 moving certain firearms, guns, and ammunition to the Commerce Control List (CCL), the Automated Export System (AES) has been updated to create a new license type, C63, for items not having the same controls as…
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…
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…
Import classifications are the cornerstone of every shipment. Without a correct classification, you cannot determine duties or tariffs. With trade compliance professionals wearing so many hats, classification is often an afterthought – just a number quickly slapped on the paperwork to get it off the dock. The result? Inconsistent and potentially incorrect classifications. Here are…
If you’ve spent any time in trade compliance, you’ve probably come across the term “reasonable care.” But what, exactly, does that mean? The ambiguous nature of this phrase has caused many different interpretations over the years. Let’s review some practical ways to apply this principle to your global trade compliance program. The idea of “reasonable…