
International Commerce
Trade Compliance
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Normally, your objective would be something like this: Plug Profit Leaks and Assure Your Company is in Compliance and in Today’s Difficult Times it is Still Very Important. What is difficult is the change in international relations due to economic sanctions and recently the broad negative effects on international trade as a result of the Coronavirus has added another level of difficulty specifically in regard to efficient and effective sourcing, trade compliance and overall costs.
Thus your immediate objective could be re-setting your sourcing with new vendors, manufacturers or partners. Of course this would affect your supply chain and it takes a special effort; if needed TSC can help guide or facilitate this.
Trade compliance is a requirement for all companies engaged in international commercial transactions. The control of compliance costs, managing policies and procedures, and assuring proper classification of import/export products should be a top priority, failure to be in control can seriously affect your profits. Businesses can miss-classify products and incur more duty than it should.
International operations requires your company to comply with the numerous laws and regulations of many government agencies including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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Tariff compliance can be a real challenge for businesses engaged in international commerce. This barrier to trade requires a full examination of “what to source or make where”. We can collaborate with you to develop the best strategy.
What You Need:
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Trained resources to comply with trade laws on a consistent on-going basis. Failure to comply with U.S. trade laws can subject you to civil and criminal penalties, substantial fines and possible imprisonment.
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Periodic objective assessments … TSC can assist you in the areas of reviewing your:
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Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCN): working with your product engineers review for the correct import commodities classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).
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Compliance training, creation of a compliance manual designed for your company and its products, documentation review, and trade management.
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Sourcing assistance or oversight - Project Management.
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We can make the process easier to deal with providing a complete consultative solution.
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Ask yourself these questions:
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When was the last time we examined our ECCN and HTS classifications?
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Are we possibly be paying more duty then we should?
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Are we processing duty drawbacks properly?
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Do we have a compliance manual, is it up-to-date? Does each office dealing with trade have one?
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Does the compliance manual clearly set out written trade policies and procedures?
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Do we need help with license preparation and other paperwork?
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Do we need training in any of our offices?
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When was the last time we engaged a consultant to objectively evaluate what we do?
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C-TPAT Adoption Helps to Secure Cargo throughout Your Supply Chain
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Another opportunity to ensure cargo security throughout your supply chain is to adopt US government security guidelines by being C-TPAT compliant. By participating in C-TPAT there are benefits to be derived such as reducing border delays and priority processing for CBP inspections. We can help you with this government initiative and improve the integrity of your security practices.
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Bonded Warehouse Solutions
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TSC can assist you with assessing the value of a bonded warehouse versus a traditional warehouse. We would compare cash flow, cost savings, inventory accuracy, and security and consider US Customs compliance requirements. We can help manage an RFP process, help select bonded warehouse providers and evaluate their proposals in the areas of cost, best practices and best solution for you.
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Section 321 Data Pilot & ACE Entry
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Purpose for 321 is to pilot the utility of accepting advance data from E-Commerce partners for risk segmentation. This Section authorizes the CBP to provide exemption to admit free from duty and tax shipments having a retail value of not more than $800 (de minimis entry).
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Purpose of ACE Entry
Test is to allow de minimis via a New Entry type “86” which allows customs brokers and self-filers to electronically submit these entries through ABI.
For more regulatory information contact the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of Homeland Security.