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