Next week Austin, TX will be filled with petroleum exports for the American Petroleum Institute (API) International Trade & Customs Conference.
The conference is designed to provide attendees with up-to-date information on what is happening in international trade in the areas of duty drawback, imports, exports and US foreign-trade zones (FTZ). Being held March 8 – 10, the conference includes a broad range of topics that will be presented by experts in the field of petroleum operations and customs laws and regulations. Session topics include export compliance, legislative issues, FTZ optimization and ACE updates, presented by Melissa Irmen from Integration Point, Inc.
For more information and to register, visit the API website.
There is one common goal that all global traders should be working towards – making a positive impact on your company’s bottom line. A list of the top 10 critical tasks everyone should be undertaking to ensure success in 2010 was created by Beth Peterson Enterprises (BPE).
“With the beginning of 2010, everyone has the opportunity to start fresh in their global trade compliance initiatives,” noted Beth Peterson, President, BPE. “It is imperative, now more than ever, that the trade industry comply with global rules and regulations. While this list is not inclusive, it should enable compliance professionals to give a meaningful start to the new decade.”
Take the time to double check that your company is following these tasks:
- Review and/or develop objectives for the year
- Review contracts to ensure there are no barriers to achieving those objectives
- Develop or update your global risk analysis
- Establish an audit schedule for the year
- Identify training and educational requirements for the company, your team, yourself and your service providers
- Review the legislative landscape for pending regulations that will impact your company
- Meet with your sales and marketing team to understand their strategies for 2010
- Meet with your supply chain strategy team to identify new strategies or plans for 2010 that will require global trade compliance support from a planning perspective
- Review your compliance manuals and identify any processes, policies or procedures that require development or updating
- Finalize your annual budget
For more detailed information, visit the BPE website.
Having trouble enrolling in e214? US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is trying to make it easier for you by posting instructions on their website.
Current ABI filers should contact their assigned client representative to enroll. If you are not using ABI, you will need to send a letter to CBP letting them know you’d like to enroll and include:
- Name, address and phone number of company and contact
- Type of business
- How you will be transmitting data
You may send your letter to the following address:
US Customs and Border Protection
Attn: Beauregard Client Reps
7861 Boston Blvd
Springfield, VA 20598
In 2010, we’ll see CBP making more electronic data submissions like the e214 easier for all parties involved. If you’re not already filing ABI, now might be a good time to consider it.
For more information on successfully filing e214 electronically, visit the Integration Point website.
In today’s highly competitive global economy, companies are seeking every advantage to dominate in the market place. Because many US companies rely on foreign suppliers to provide parts, they are faced with significant import duties, taxes and other fees. Naturally, these companies are exploring cost cutting measures, including Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ). “Foreign-Trade Zones in the Electronic Industry“, a white paper published by ATC Logistics & Electronics, points out the many benefits of FTZs.
According to annual reports from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board, the combined value of shipments into FTZs jumped from $177.8 billion in 1997 to $502 billion in 2007, with no slowdown in sight. The benefits of FTZs are obvious in regards to import charges. Duty savings opportunities make an immediate impact on import expenses and improve a company’s cash flow by:
- Deferral – Goods within an FTZ will only be charged import duties once they are withdrawn from the zone and enter the US commerce
- Reduction – If multiple goods, for example a cell phone and its battery, are packaged into a single unit within an FTZ, there is only one duty charge upon entry, as opposed to multiple fees
- Elimination – In the event that goods within an FTZ are shipped out of the US, there is no duty
Manufacturers must explore every option to reduce their import costs and can gain a tremendous amount from utilizing FTZs. For more on FTZ benefits, visit the Integration Point website.
Integration Point is excited to announce that we will be attending and presenting at the International Compliance Professionals Association (ICPA) European Conference. Held in Amsterdam June 13 – 15, the theme for the conference is ‘Factors Impacting International Trade & Customs Compliance’ and will be segmented into two general tracks following import and export topics.
Speakers will be comprised of the most knowledgeable and experienced professionals in the international trade arena. Confirmed sessions include:
- Compliance Implications of Simplified EU Law
- Impact of the AEO Program
- The Modernised Customs Code (MCC)
- Export Control Fundamentals for Compliance Managers
- Conducting Effective Internal Audits
- Tariff Engineering
All ICPA members with EU responsibilities, trade compliance professionals and compliance specialists and analysts are encouraged to attend. Registration is open now – for more information, please visit the ICPA website.
Many US importers have been affected by the official enforcement of Importer Security Filing (10+2) regulations. Do you identify with any of these scenarios?
- You are managing your ISFs manually, and it is taking a toll
- You are filing ISFs to CBP, but some shipments are still slipping through unfiled
- You haven’t even started filing ISFs, and are waiting on CBP to find out
- You have executives asking about ISF, and you have to justify cost
If so, then you don’t want to miss the 10+2 Best Practices webcast on February 16th. US importer Virginia Thompson will be sharing the ISF strategy that made 10+2 compliance work for Euromarket Designs, Inc. (d/b/a Crate & Barrel) to improve their supply chain visibility. This 1-hour educational webcast will cover:
- ISF filing from an importer’s perspective
- Important questions to ask when determining your ISF strategy
- Implementation challenges and how to overcome them
- Continual improvement of any ISF filing program is key
- The “silver linings” of ISF compliance
Click here to register for the webcast.
Zone operators looking for an easier way to handle the payment and refund procedures for quarterly harbor maintenance fees (HMF) should take note. A recent Federal Register Notice (FRN) has outlined new procedures from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that makes electronic payment of HMF an option. According to the FRN, “CBP will continue to accept quarterly payments or refund requests via mail. These changes are intended to provide the trade with expanded electronic payment/refund options and to modernize and enhance CBP’s port use fee collection efforts.”
If your FTZ operations were almost paperless except for this one payment/refund process, then once you initiate this automatic processing of HMF, you will have completely paperless zone operations. Zone operators will now be able to eliminate the time-consuming task of filling out paperwork and mailing in each request.
For those of you that have already begun using the CBP payment site – www.pay.gov – you only need to add the HMF option to your payment list and you’ll be ready to go. If you don’t have an account at www.pay.gov, you will need to set one up to begin processing HMF electronically. Benefit of this – you can also process a lot of other payments through the same site, thus eliminating more paperwork and time-consuming processes in operating your zone.
Still confused about which form is needed when submitting HMF payments or refund requests? According to this FRN, both HMF supplemental payments and refund requests must be accompanied by the CBP Form 350 (HMF Amended Quarterly Summary Report) and the CBP Form 349 (HMF Quarterly Summary Report).
Are you tired of dealing with Census regarding zone corrections? Then take a look at this foreign-trade zone (FTZ) best practices document. Published by US Census, this gives their perspective on best practices for all kinds of electronic filing for which Census obtains information including e214, CBP 7501 and export filing.
The Foreign Trade Division (FTD) of Census is responsible for collecting, compiling and publishing the International Trade Statistics for the US. Following the guidelines and best practices set forth in this document will reduce the calls Census has to make to your zone for corrections or additional data. While these are specific to statistical reporting, they are also good for zone reporting in general.
Happy International Customs Day! Today International Customs Day is being celebrated all around the world, but especially in Brussels, at the World Customs Organization (WCO) Headquarters. Why is today so important? January 26th marks the day of the first official meeting of the Customs Co-operation Council, now known as the WCO.
With a rotating theme each year, Customs bases their selection on the current international trade environment. WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya has announced the 2010 theme as “Customs and Business: Improving Performance through Partnerships”. This theme reflects Customs goal of working closely with businesses to improve the performance of International trade. One lesson every business and individual has learned from the downturn in our current global environment is the importance of cooperation between stakeholders in international trade. The future of the supply chain depends on all those involved and our ability to work together.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is celebrating with a new ISF regulation going into enforcement. Our offices around the globe will be celebrating with a cake. How are you celebrating today? Leave a comment letting us know.
To learn more about the WCO’s Customs-Business partnership, visit their website.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of the Treasury adopted proposed amendments as a final rule to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations regarding Remote Location Filing (RLF) on December 29, 2009.
RLF allows US importers to centralize functions both internally and externally with their brokers. Filing entries electronically via RLF means that a local presence is not required at each port.
Zone operators have looked for clarification regarding the use of RLF filing 06 entries for many years. The good news is that the final rule from CBP indicates that RLF will be available for all entry types. Filing of each type is made available in ACE. This rule goes into effect on January 29, 2010.
