In Part I of our NIST 800-171 series, we discussed various aspects of complying with DFARS 252.2014-7012 (NIST 800-171 compliance), including certifying under systems like EXOSTAR, identifying gaps within your systems (IT, procedural and physical), capturing CUI/CDI data …
On Friday, January 31, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order reiterating the policy of the United States regarding persons who facilitate imports of merchandise in direct violation of Federal laws and calling for the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue a notice of proposed rule-making to establish criteria an importer must meet before obtaining an importer of record (IOR) number.
“When can I get it?” Consumers have an insatiable appetite for speed. Just a few years ago, Dell made the news that you could get a customized laptop in just a few weeks. Now, Amazon sets the pace that you can get almost anything in 2 days, and some items much faster
One of the many improvements from NAFTA in the newly-ratified United States Mexico Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), is the added ability of your business to directly engage in an ongoing dialogue with a permanently established USMCA committee, whose express purpose is to work with businesses in order to clarify terms of control of the USMCA as well as improve the implementation of this brand new tripartite trade agreement.
I’m sure by now, you’ve read, or at least heard of, the Airbus SE multi-billion dollar settlement with U.S., French and UK authorities, for FCPA and Export violations—the largest penalty that I can recall in my 30+ years in international trade! Although, I’ve had extensive experience in anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABAC) matters…
President Trump signed the Phase 1 Agreement with China on January 15, 2020. As part of the agreement, China has pledged to purchase $200 billion worth of goods and services over the next two years – this would be a 50% increase from the current levels. The $200 billion worth of goods and services is broken down into four main categories over 2020 and 2021…
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area, outlined in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the 55 African Union nations. The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization. Nigeria and Benin were the hold outs until July of 2019.
Determining the correct classification of goods is arguably paramount to any good trade compliance program. However, many companies misclassify their goods at an astonishing rate. While this may be good for business for trade compliance consultants like myself, it isn’t good when it comes time for our client’s Customs audits.
S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data shows that between the years 2000 and 2018, seizures of counterfeit goods at U.S. borders have increased 10-fold, from 3,244 seizures per year to 33,810. In response to this surge, in April of last year, the Trump Administration published its Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods…
While the United States Trade Representative is currently inundated with Section 301 exclusion requests, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division’s (NSD) recent update could be encouraging an influx of voluntary self-disclosures (VSDs) to the U.S. export agencies and the DOJ in the near future.
On Jan. 1, 2020 the Japan-United States Free Trade Agreement went into effect. The agreement provides duty-free, or reduced duty treatment, for certain Japanese imports into the U.S. and certain U.S. exports to Japan. The implementation details were printed in the Federal Register on Dec. 30, 2019 (84 FR 72187).
On January 6, 2020, BIS published an interim final rule adding “software specially designed to automate the analysis of geospatial imagery” to the EAR and requiring a license to export and reexport such items to all countries, with the exception of Canada. This rule classifies “software specially designed to automate the analysis of geospatial imagery”
Incoterms are rules issued by the International Chamber of Commerce that facilitate global trade and are updated every ten years or so in an effort to keep up with the changes that take place in international trade. The current version is Incoterms 2010, but a new version, Incoterms 2020, is expected to be released in the last quarter of 2019 and will take effect on January 1, 2020.
Having heard the proverbial expression of “Not putting all of one’s eggs in one basket” since I was about 7 years old, I can’t imagine laying out a marketing strategy and business expansion plan in this day and age without looking at all options, especially for the manufacturing location.
In light of President Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on the $200 billion list of Chinese imports, China has decided to raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. These retaliatory tariffs affect approximately 5,000 products and the total duty ranges from 20-25% depending on the commodity.
Have you heard about the Mexican “Fourth Transformation (4T)”? Well, this is how Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) wants his term in office to be known as. He says, throughout the course of the history, Mexico has gone through 3 important episodes: 1. Independence, 2. Reform, 3. Revolution, and 4…: the 4T.
Determining the country of origin of imported articles has become increasingly important in recent years. There has long been a requirement that imported articles be marked with the name of the country of origin. Country of origin also determines eligibility for special duties or free trade agreements.
The USMCA recently went into effect on July 1, 2020, which ended the twenty-six years reign of NAFTA. A major focus of the new agreement was to update the regulations relating to the automotive sector.
The new agreement is similar to NAFTA in many respects, and the commitments that pertain specifically to machinery, equipment and computers in Chapter 84 have not changed very much, with the exception of the rules of origin calculations for motor vehicles and parts, which impacts several categories of goods in Chapter 84.
The enactment of the “United States Mexico Canada Trade Agreement” (“USMCA”) on July 1st, 2020, heralded the first new tri-lateral trade agreement since the enactment of its predecessor, NAFTA in 1994.
On July 14, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) that stripped Hong Kong of its different and preferential treatment from mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC or China). In accordance with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the city of Hong Kong’s sovereignty was handed over to mainland China from the U.K. in 1997, but as an autonomous city with a largely separate legal and economic system from mainland China.
