Companies violate export compliance laws every day. Either an organization intentionally commits export violations and misleads the government, or simply lacks the proper export compliance program to alert them when in danger. 

Either way, these violations can ultimately lead to millions of dollars' worth of fines, loss of credibility, a tarnished reputation, imprisonment and loss of exportation privileges. Although a majority of companies would never intentionally commit export compliance violations - the latter happens all too often to unsuspecting organizations with an outdated, manual or weak export compliance solution.

Unpredictability around trade protectionism isn't just limited to the US, or even the western hemisphere. For global companies sourcing and shipping around the world, it can be important to know some of the quirkier import and export anomalies, saving time and avoiding headaches from denied shipments and surprise tariffs.

Duty Drawback represents one of Customs’ most long-standing benefits to firms, as it offers companies a refund of up to 99% of taxes, duties and fees paid when imported merchandise is exported or destroyed within certain timeframes. The concept is simple – match your import entry documents with the corresponding export docs, file for expedited payment processing, and voila! Money will flow into your bank account.

As simple as it seems, drawback regulations are among the most complicated, and it is estimated that $2.8 billion dollars is left unclaimed by companies eligible for refund. Enter Amber Road’s Global Trade Academy – after attending the unique 3-day Duty Drawback Certificate Program, attendees have succeeded in securing incredible refunds for their firms.

One great success story is that of Tammy Anderson, Logistics Supervisor with an electronics firm, who in less than one year was able to secure $1.3 million dollars from her drawback program.  

The world relies on commerce.  Given the current global trade environment and the ongoing shifts in trade policies around the world, customs management is as important as ever. In its 2016 Import Benchmark Report, American Shipper magazine reports that customs self-filing is a growing trend in the industry.  Tools and systems are readily available, providing the shipper with choices in how they file the required information with customs agencies.  Working with third party logistics providers may make sense for some organizations, but leveraging software to file data directly with customs provides added value to many companies.

This is an update to a blog post originally published on March 10, 2017.

Update:  Last month, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) decided to remove ZTE Corporation from its Entity List, allowing the company to continue business in the United States. 

“By acknowledging the mistakes we made, taking responsibility for them... we are committed to a ZTE that is fully compliant, healthy, and trustworthy.”

- Zhao Xianming, ZTE President

To comply or not to comply, that is the question often faced by companies in regards to their export compliance programs. The amount of political upheaval over the past year will have significant impact on the world of global trade management for years to come. With more political upheaval, financial stress, and regulatory change on the horizon, is your company prepared for the changes to come?

Rome was not built in a day, and neither should your export management or compliance programs. To build these programs your company must develop, implement, adhere to operational policies, procedures, protocols, and guidelines for export compliance operations. Automating the export process with the use of the proper technologies will help provide the structure needed by your company.

As companies like yours look to increase revenues and expand into rewarding foreign markets, uncertainties and complexities await. These lurking uncertainties are the primary challenges and complications with export compliance. Rapid growth for your company often means entering new fertile markets, expanding production, and reaching new customers. All of these factors bring immeasurable pressure to your trade compliance team. 

Let’s face it, export compliance is tedious and complicated work. Government rules and regulations are constantly changing and trying to tackle this problem manually can be an overwhelming nightmare. Do not let export compliance control your valuable time. Take back your work day with processes and technologies designed to maximize your efficiencies and reduce export compliance risks.

After analyzing the global trade enviroment for decades, American Shipper has released its latest landscape report. Dive into their latest report on the ever changing policies to come in the global trade winds.