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Upcoming Seminars: |
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Air
& Ocean Transportation: Logistics Management for the International
Supply Chain
Atlanta, GA
11/11/10
Charlotte, NC
12/16/10
Chicago, IL
11/11/10
Cincinnati, OH
10/21/10
Houston, TX
8/25/10
Miami, FL
10/14/10
Windsor Locks, CT
9/24/10
Export
Documentation & Procedures Seminar
Atlanta, GA
11/8/10
Charlotte, NC
12/13/10
Chicago, IL
11/10/10
Cincinnati, OH
10/18/10
Cleveland, OH
11/10/10
Detroit, MI
10/27/10
Houston, TX
8/23/10
Las Vegas, NV
11/15/10
Louisville, KY
11/15/10
Miami, FL
10/11/10
Milwaukee, WI
10/20/10
Nashville, TN
9/15/10
Philadelphia, PA
11/2/10
Pittsburgh, PA
9/27/10
San Diego, CA
10/25/10
Seattle, WA
9/28/10
Windsor Locks, CT
9/20/10
Letters
of Credit and Alternative International Payment Methods Seminar
Anaheim, CA
8/27/10
Cleveland, OH
11/12/10
Houston, TX
8/24/10
Milwaukee, WI
10/21/10
Pittsburgh, PA
9/30/10
Windsor Locks, CT
9/23/10
NAFTA
Rules of Origin Seminar
Atlanta, GA
11/10/10
Charlotte, NC
12/15/10
Chicago, IL
11/16/10
Cincinnati, OH
10/20/10
Cleveland, OH
12/1/10
Detroit, MI
10/29/10
Houston, TX
8/27/10
Las Vegas, NV
11/17/10
Louisville, KY
11/17/10
Miami, FL
10/13/10
Milwaukee, WI
10/13/10
Minneapolis, MN
8/18/10
Nashville, TN
9/17/10
Philadelphia, PA
11/4/10
Pittsburgh, PA
9/29/10
San Diego, CA
10/27/10
Seattle, WA
9/30/10
Windsor Locks, CT
9/22/10
Tariff
Classification: Using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule Seminar
Atlanta, GA
11/9/10
Charlotte, NC
12/14/10
Chicago, IL
11/15/10
Cincinnati, OH
10/19/10
Cleveland, OH
11/11/10
Detroit, MI
10/28/10
Houston, TX
8/26/10
Las Vegas, NV
11/16/10
Louisville, KY
11/16/10
Miami, FL
10/12/10
Milwaukee, WI
10/12/10
Minneapolis, MN
8/17/10
Nashville, TN
9/16/10
Philadelphia, PA
11/3/10
Pittsburgh, PA
9/28/10
San Diego, CA
10/26/10
Seattle, WA
9/29/10
Windsor Locks, CT
9/21/10
These one-day seminars are taught by qualified
and knowledgeable instructors in small-group settings. All attendees
receive the corresponding reference book and a Certificate of Completion.
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By Michael Laden email
| bio
In many companies the art of moving goods across international
borders is viewed as black magic. In fact, I have a colleague who
keeps a magic wand in his desk just for such emergencies. When Inventory
or Shipping begin screaming about backorders and delays at Customs
he simply produces the potent wand, whisks it mindlessly through
the air, and "presto-chango" the consignment appears...
sometimes.
The fact is, in many companies the trade compliance group (if there
is one) doesn't get the respect or resources they need to do an
adequate job. Senior management maintains a "don’t look
behind the curtain" mentality and is reluctant to commit additional
resources.
Why?
Because as long as the "Wizard" (a role played by the
import or export department) keeps delivering inventory and no one
with guns or search warrants is in the lobby, they take a leap of
faith that the organization is compliant. But remember what happens
when we just assume?
This business we call international trade and/or supply chain is
full of land mines and mantraps, and if you take your eye off the
ball for one minute you can find yourself in significant trouble.
Sadly, some companies totally neglect the necessity to be compliant
until it's too late and the lobby is full of auditors or other enforcement
types. When this happens it can be a very painful experience. Responding
to an audit, or worse yet a subpoena, is time consuming, extremely
expensive and it can have a profound impact on your transactions
for years to come.
The cornerstone of any best-in-class import or export trade compliance
program starts in the board room and executive offices. Without
the unconditional support of senior leadership, building a respected
and highly compliant program becomes exponentially more difficult.
In some companies the trade compliance department can be viewed
as a nuisance or "blocker," when in reality they are only
trying to protect the company's supply chain and reputation with
the authorities.
The senior leadership of any company engaged in global trade must
recognize that the soft dollars saved on export or import compliance
programs might be invisible or difficult to quantify; but all it
takes is one penalty case or fine to quickly erase the hard dollar
savings gleaned from cutting corners on trade compliance, not to
mention the damage done to the company's reputation and suffering
the full wrath and powers of the federal government.
So, if the support isn't there today the obvious question then becomes:
"How do I garner and then maintain executive sponsorship for
trade compliance at my company?"
There is no foolproof way, and it, of course, depends largely on
corporate culture and your position within the organization. In
some companies it takes a large penalty, audit or some other enforcement
action before there is an awakening among the executive leadership.
With that as my caveat, I've found that there are two individuals
in the corporate hierarchy that you should get as close as possible
to: the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the General Counsel. Why?
Because the CFO can easily relate to the work done in the trade
compliance arena with tax laws they must comply with. By using the
tax analogy you just might find them a little more receptive. After
all, a customs entry is just like a tax return wherein your company
is making certain representations and declarations under the threat
of penalty if they are inaccurate. And, you're not just doing it
quarterly or annually, you're doing it every day. Also it is the
CFO's duty to protect the company's purse strings, and if they are
awakened to what kinds of penalties could be levied against the
company for errors this also tends to get their attention.
Once you have the CFO convinced it is time to move on to the General
Counsel because no one in the company should understand the importance
and necessity of adhering to all applicable laws and regulations
more than the resident lawyer. If they have any doubts you might
suggest that they read up on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines or
the customs penalty statutes; it might just alter their thinking.
Both of these individuals, the CFO and General Counsel, should have
the ear of the president and/or the board at your company. Once
you have penetrated the board room with your case for building a
highly compliant program you should be well on your way to adequate
funding and the resources necessary for your trade compliance initiatives.
Good luck!
When it comes to international trade, standing
still means you're falling behind.
Almost every government agency imaginable
has either recently implemented major changes to their import-export
regulations or they are about to. And many of the regulatory changes
are accompanied by significant increases in penalties for non-compliance—up
to a million dollars or more for some violations.
It's up to you and your colleagues to stay
on top of this changing landscape. But who's got the time? In these
difficult economic times budgets are being frozen, staffing levels
are being cut, and your workload keeps getting bigger.
That's why International Business Training
(IBT) is offering a series of lunch-time webinars that let you participate
from your desktop computer in live, two-hour presentations on the
topics that are most important to you and your company.
We've taken popular seminar topics—export
procedures, import
regulations, Incoterms,
and the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—and broken them
out into two-hour topics.
Not only does this make it easier and cheaper
for you to attend, it actually allows us to give you more information
on each individual topic. Sign up for all five of our export webinars,
for example, and you'll get 10 hours of actual learning time instead
of the six to seven hours you typically get in a one-day seminar.
Or just register for the specific export topics that relate to your
individual job duties.
Each two-hour session is held twice a day
so both east coast and west coast attendees can participate over
their lunch hours. Of course, if you've already got lunch plans,
we don't mind if you register for the other session that day.
Each two-hour webinar is only $150, and you'll
receive a copy of the instructor's PowerPoint presentation prior
to the webinar so you can take notes, and we'll mail you a Certificate
of Completion at the end of each webinar. Additional attendees from
your company can attend on the same internet connection for only
$50 each.
These webinars have been incredibily popular,
and we expect this upcoming series to be even more so. Don't miss
out on this great opportunity to learn. Register
now online at the IBT website or by calling us at 1-800-641-0920.
You'll be glad you did!
Top of Page
By Richard Vitas Palaikis II email
| bio
The Obama Administration has pledged to conduct
an extensive review of our current export control system and
to implement changes as necessary to streamline the entire
export process. One of the first changes came to light in
June. It has just become a little easier to export certain
electronic devices found on the mass market that contain encryption
or are capable of generating encryption.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
Kevin Wolf went on the record saying, "This revised rule
enhances our national security and cuts red tape by eliminating
the review of readily available encryption items like cell
phones and household appliances and allows the government
to focus its resources on more sensitive encryption items."
With this change, the government will no longer mandate a
30-day technical review period for most mass market items.
Rather, the government will now allow exporters, as well as
manufacturers, to self-certify products, which would allow
those exporters and manufacturers to export those products
without a license provided they register with the Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS).
The registration process is a one-time event that requires
exporters and manufacturers to submit information pertaining
to their company and the type of business they are engaged
in.
Upon completion of the registration process, BIS will provide
registrants with a registration number that will allow them
to self-certify and export certain mass market items under
license exception ENC.
As part of the new process, those companies that self-certify
will be required to semi-annually provide a full report to
BIS and the National Security Agency (NSA) pertaining to all
of their exports under license exception ENC. The report must
contain the following information:
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the name and address of the distributor,
reseller or individual consumer,
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the quantity of the item exported, and
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the end-user's name and address, if collected.
Before conducting your next export transaction
that involves electronic devices with encryption technology,
remember that the rules have changed; double check before
you ship!
You'll find more information pertaining to the encryption
export rule revision at the Bureau
of Industry and Security website.
Top of Page
Thousands of successful exporters are using
Shipping Solutions to complete their export documents faster,
easier and less expensively than ever before. Why aren't you?
If you're too busy trying to complete your export
documents by hand to spend some time reviewing the Shipping
Solutions Professional export documentation and compliance
software yourself, let us do it for you! Sign
up for one of our free online demos and let us give you
a one-hour overview of the software.
We'll take you step-by-step through the process
of completing your export forms, filing your SEDs electronically
through AES, and checking your exports against the various
government restricted parties lists and export regulations
to make sure your shipments are in compliance, and you—and
your company—stay out of trouble.
These free online demos are available on Tuesdays
at 1:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. All
you need is an Internet connection to watch the demo and a
phone to listen in and ask questions about the software. It's
the perfect opportunity to get your first view of Shipping
Solutions or to convince your co-workers and your boss that
Shipping Solutions is the perfect solution for your company.
See why Shipping Solutions is America's #1 export
software. Sign
up for the free online demo today!
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