Global trade and the associated supply chain are subject to ever-increasing international regulations and legislation. Global Trade Management reduces the risk of liability, fines and delays at international borders, and conducting a sourcing and distribution analysis presents possibilities for companies to minimize import duties, taxes and surcharges.

Last week in Geneva, a deal was struck between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S. and the European Union, to relax global trade restrictions on cars, petrochemicals, aviation parts, gold, and insurance for oil cargoes. Additionally, Iran will be permitted to continue exporting oil at current levels instead of forcing further reductions.

After four years of difficult negotiations, Canada and the European Union have signed a free trade agreement that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called “the biggest trade deal our country has ever made.” European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso hailed it as a “new opportunity to increase market access… gain a strong foothold in the North American market, and so provide a catalyst for growth and create jobs in Europe.”

As cross-border trade becomes more and more vital, companies have begun to consider alternate sourcing and trade options and how these will impact their total costing analysis. Many have been drawn to Free Trade Zones and reshoring processes, in order to reap the benefits of duty and tariff reduction opportunities.

As a global trade professional, you face a variety of challenges including different languages, a proliferation of constantly changing government regulations and heightened security concerns. How are you mastering these complexities to ensure smooth operations?

Xylem Inc, a leading global water technology company, needed a simple to use, flexible, fully automated screening solution that also managed its export and import data and could be deployed quickly without costly software or hardware. Xylem turned to Amber Road’s Export On-Demand solution to automate all aspects of export compliance for 300 worldwide users across 150 countries.

American Shipper’s latest Import Operations and Compliance Benchmark Study: Two Worlds Collide, reveals the truth about import compliance automation, and provides a comparison of systems-based and manual approaches.

Amber Road announced today that GE will use its Global Trade Management (GTM) solution to centralize and automate trade functions worldwide across all eight of its business units.

Even as companies go global, supply chain challenges remain. Large, complex and sometimes unpredictable trading networks can adversely affect revenues and the ability to compete for new customers in new markets. Recently, Amber Road commissioned SCM World to conduct a survey of the landscape and issues facing supply chain professionals as they manage their global trade.

Amber Road would like to thank all of those who attended the first webinar in our three-part Export Compliance Webinar Series. During this series, we address three key steps involved in building an export compliance program, and show you how Export On-Demand can help you get started.  The first webinar focused on Restricted Party Screening (RPS), and the attendees asked some great questions.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were unable to answer all of them. The presenters were kind enough to provide us with written responses to those questions. Here are a few: