What You Don't Know about Customs Trade Compliance Could Hurt You

In 1993, the Customs Modernization Act went into effect. This law sought to keep the international trade community informed of legal obligations to comply with the regulations of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). One goal of the legislation was maximizing voluntary compliance with regulations. This act remains a cornerstone of customs trade compliance for importers and exporters in the United States. Importers and CBP Responsibilities Under the Customs Modernization Act, the CBP and importers share an obligation to adhere to customs regulations. For example, the importer of record has to use "reasonable care" in entering, classifying, and determining monetary value of imports. The importer must also provide any other information needed by CBP to properly calculate duties, collect any necessary statistics, and determine if all applicable legal requirements have been met. Prior Disclosure and Investigations Whenever a CBP officer believes that a Customs violation has occurred, he or she records the relevant information in writing, marking the commencement of an investigation. For this reason, it is important that businesses disclose any potential violations as soon as possible after they are suspected. If such a disclosure is made before the CBP believes a violation has occurred the business may be treated with greater leniency than if no disclosure was made. Licenses, Agreements, and Recordkeeping Because of the possibility of a CBP investigation, it is absolutely critical that your international business keep employees up to date on the latest regulations that affect them. Many firms work with Customs trade compliance specialists to train employees and to ensure that adequate records are kept. Getting through a CBP investigation is much easier when a company can demonstrate it was taking reasonable care in compliance and has documentation supporting that claim. The Customs Trade Compliance Specialist and Your Business CBP is a law enforcement agency, but it wants to help businesses operate lawfully. Your company must demonstrate that it is taking all reasonable steps to ensure compliance. Working with a customs trade compliance specialist not only helps you spot vulnerabilities early, it also shows the CBP that your company has made a good faith effort to remain compliant.

Pre Trade Compliance Specialist Keeps Businesses Running Smoothly

Under U.S. Customs and Border Protection Importer Security Filing (ISF) regulations, importers have to electronically submit information on cargo before it's imported to the United States. The goal is to more efficiently identify high-risk shipments and ultimately to prevent the weapons and tools of terrorists from entering the U.S. These pre trade compliance rules use information already included in entry documentation, but now it has to be submitted to CBP not later than 24 hours before cargo goes onto a vessel headed to the U.S. Exporters and Trade Compliance The letter of the law under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) can be ambiguous and may be interpreted in many ways. To ensure your success as an exporter, an export compliance program is the minimum your company needs to prevent export violations. When your company maintains a dialog with trade regulators and stays current under export requirements, you help minimize violations and present a good case of mitigating circumstances should a violation occur. The Basic Building Blocks of Compliance The rock bottom basics of a compliance program for importing and exporting consist of • Compliance manual • Employee training • Recordkeeping A pre trade compliance specialist helps ensure that you and your employees are informed on the latest trade regulations and that every effort is made to avoid violations. Violations can hold up your supply chain, cause productivity to drop, and in serious cases, result in fines and negative publicity. Mitigating Factors After a Violation Should a violation occur, you will have a better case for the appropriate government agency to consider mitigating factors if you have a solid import and export control program in place. Because regulations and classifications are subject to interpretation, being able to show that your company engaged in pre trade compliance auditing and training lowers your risk of incurring drastic penalties. Sharpen Your Company's Competitive Edge Don't think of trade compliance as a necessary evil, but rather as a program that gives your company a competitive edge. Invest in compliance policies and training up front and you help ensure that both the import and export sides of your business run smoothly. pre trade compliance, pre trade compliance specialist

The Benefits of Export Compliance Webinars

It doesn't matter if you have 10 employees or 10,000. If you export products, you have to stay current on export regulations. Many export compliance services are now offering webinars as a cost-effective way to provide training to any size group. Import and export regulations change frequently, and custom webinars are a great way to make sure everyone on your team is up-to-date. Corporate travel budgets are leaner than ever, and sending employees away to training seminars can be a real financial burden. But export compliance webinars are brought right to each desktop so that training can be easily integrated into work schedules at a far lower cost than off-site training. With their low cost per employee, webinars are less expensive and disruptive than live, on-site training. Minimum Disruption to Productivity Web-based export compliance training is the most convenient way to ensure that every employee receives the training they need and that disruption to production schedules is minimized. Employee training by webinar can be staggered by the day or by the hour so that you won't find yourself without multiple key employees all at once. You don't have to give up a day of productivity to ensure your employees are properly trained in the export regulations.  Up-to-the-minute regulatory changes can be incorporated into your online training program. Compliance Assurance stakes its reputation on keeping current with export regulations, and web-based training is a great way to ensure your employees receive only the most current training. Regular reinforcement of export regulations and the consequences for non-compliance  are necessary to avoid violating export laws. Web-based training on the latest in export regulations is a convenient, cost-effective way to make sure that employee awareness of the importance of compliance is refreshed and reinforced. When every employee is educated about the latest export regulations, your company reduces the risk of violation and may even be able to claim mitigating circumstances if an unintended violation should occur.

Post Trade Compliance and Traceability

Products may leave your company for delivery to end users, but trade compliance does not end at the loading dock. After an overseas transaction, your company must practice good post trade compliance to avoid penalties and fees and to keep export operations running smoothly. Documentation showing that your business complies with the latest export regulations is necessary for traceability and auditing purposes. Remaining in good standing with international trade regulations requires commitment from every employee involved with importing and exporting. Comprehensive Trade Compliance and Your Operations Periodic training is necessary for all workers who deal with imports and exports to avoid falling afoul of regulations. Trade regulations are known for changing frequently, so employees must remain aware of the changes that affect them. Your business's trade compliance policy must be communicated clearly from the CEO's office, and you must demonstrate your commitment to compliance by keeping employees abreast of changes in the regulatory environment. Compliance from Import to Export and Beyond Pre trade compliance and post trade compliance successfully bookend your operations so that you avoid problems importing commodities and exporting products. Without trade compliance at the beginning and end of your production process, you risk severe financial and legal consequences. Ensuring Continuing Trade Compliance Compliance consultants help businesses every day by providing employee training, finding out where there are potential weaknesses in compliance and finding ways to fix those potential problems. For any business operating internationally, trade compliance is not only the right thing to do, but also provides a competitive edge. Compliance must be integrated into your company at every step from commodity import to finished product export.

Does Your Company Take International Trade Compliance Seriously?

Many violations of trade compliance regulations are unintentional, but that doesn't mean they aren't serious. If your company is found to be in violation of regulations, whether on the import or the export side, problems can quickly mount, such as: • Slowing or halting of the supply chain • Products languishing in customs for lengthy periods • Difficulty getting products to customers • Assessment of heavy fines Importance of Having an Official Trade Compliance Policy If your company does business internationally and doesn't have an official trade compliance policy issued by the president or CEO, you risk an uninformed or misinformed employee pool. Having an official company trade compliance policy is the first step toward integrating trade compliance into your everyday operations. If you are not sure where to begin, contacting an international trade compliance specialist is a good starting point. Employee Training Policies are great, but they aren't worth much if employees don't know about them and don't know what to do if they believe a violation has occurred. Any employee who deals with imports or exports must be trained in trade compliance, and their training must be kept current. Trade policies change frequently and what was OK last year may not be OK this year. Keeping employees aware of trade compliance is one key to avoiding violations. Periodic Trade Compliance Auditing Another reason to consider working with an international trade compliance

specialist is for periodic compliance audits. An independent audit can discover problems and potential problems, and a good compliance specialist will help you devise and implement solutions. Audits should not be a one-time undertaking. Changes to trade policies happen frequently enough that periodic compliance check-ups are highly recommended. Don't Take Chances You don't want all the hard work your company does to be undone by supply chain problems, trade violations, and fines. Even if you work in a sector unrelated to sensitive industries like defense, trade regulations may apply to your supplies, products, or services. Staying on top of trade regulations is absolutely essential for your company to continue to operate at its best.

Could your Business Benefit from Import Compliance Consulting?

Uncertainty about Import Compliance Common

If your business imports goods, you are probably aware of how complex import regulations are. It's not uncommon for even savvy business owners to be uncertain about exactly which regulations apply. All importers should be educated on import compliance, but with regulations that change frequently, keeping up can be a daunting task. The worst thing you can do is give up and hope for the best.

Serious Consequences of Non-Compliance

Failing to comply with import rules can result in consequences ranging from shipments sitting on a dock awaiting proper documentation to shipments being seized and fines being assessed to the importer. No business big or small can afford to ignore import regulations. Even a brief holdup at Customs can slow production and diminish profits. That's why ensuring your business complies with all import regulations is essential to success.

When Adding Staff is Not Feasible

Businesses today must be lean due to the realities of a tight economy. Often, adding a full-time staff member to ensure import compliance is just not realistic. Adding import compliance tasks to workers you already have is a recipe for mistakes and can lead to staff burnout. But you don't have to hire a full-time staffer to ensure your business follows import regulations.

What Import Compliance Services Do

Import compliance services are dedicated to understanding all import regulations, knowing when they change, and developing programs to ensure that businesses become compliant and remain compliant. These services are the best choice when hiring a full-time staff member to handle import compliance is not possible. Many of these services also provide in-house or online training, to raise all employees' awareness of import laws.

Import Compliance Consulting May be the Answer

If you're trying your best to comply with import regulations but are not 100% certain you're in full compliance, hiring an import compliance consultant is the quickest and best way to get your company on track to full compliance. Enlisting in the services of compliance specialists helps you avoid violating regulations and having to deal with the consequences that result. By knowing your company follows all import laws, you're free to concentrate on running your business successfully.

Renewed Emphasis on Customs Trade Compliance

After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, supply chain security became a top priority of the U.S. government. Since 2001, major goals of U.S. Customs and Border Protection include knowledge and tracking of the following:

· Who is handling cargo at all points on the chain
· Where shipments are going
· Why it is being shipped
· Who receives the shipment

New security measures have represented a fundamental shift in logistics for international businesses that had been used to facing few if any questions about what products were going where.

The Supply Chain

Even small international businesses can have a complicated supply chain. The supply chain includes suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers, as a product transforms from raw material to finished product, with the final destination being the customer. Each point along a supply chain has its own unique security vulnerabilities. The corporate trade compliance specialist evaluates individual supply chains and makes recommendations about potential vulnerabilities and how to make the entire supply chain compliant with regulations.

Concerns of International Businesses

All international businesses must comply with regulations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Depending on the nature of the business, there may be several layers of regulations that must be met. That's the main reason why a corporate trade compliance specialist can be of tremendous help, regardless of the type of business. Penalties for violating regulations can be crippling to a business.

Timely, Secure Shipments

If you own a business that exports or imports product, you want your shipments to be secure and timely. Cutting corners on export compliance is a huge mistake and can lead to trouble all along the supply chain. Regulations are complex, and they change frequently. Consultants with expertise in trade compliance are there to help prevent problems with compliance, which have serious consequences.

Export Compliance Consulting

Compliance with international trade regulations can make the difference between success and failure of an exporter. Export compliance consulting is a growing sector, as exporters realize how many regulations apply to their products. No business, large or small, can withstand the risks of violating export regulations, and compliance consultants know how to eliminate these risks.