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Greetings!
Thank you once again for taking time to read our monthly newsletter. We hope that you find it informative and useful. It remains our goal to bring you a succinct recap of important trade news covering from the last month. Occasionally we will also publish one or two featured articles.
Our readership continues to grow with every issue. If you enjoy this newsletter please consider sharing it with your colleagues. Simply click on the "Forward to a Friend" icon found at the bottom.
As always, the Trade Innovations Team welcomes your ideas, questions, or suggestions. We can be reached by e-mail at info@tradeinnovations.com.
Sincerely,
The Trade Innovations Team
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| Trade News Briefs | 
CBP Trade Symposium Scheduled: U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has announced the dates for the wildly popular Trade Symposium. The event will be held on April 13 - 14 this year and the theme is "Working Together to Strengthen Economic Competitiveness". The event will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. As it was last year, the event will also be available by live Webcast and subsequent on-demand viewing. For in=persona attendance CBP will be enforcing a three-person limit per company. Further information regarding registration will be made available this month, please monitor our web site for details. Registration for in-person attendance is expected to fill within a matter of hours after opening.
C-TPAT Conferences: CBP has announced the dates and venues for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Supply Chain Security Training Seminars. These events are open to C-TPAT members only. CBP will host two sessions in San Diego, CA on March 29 - 30 and March 30 - 31. CBP will also present one session in New Orleans, LA on June 8 - 9. Registration is free and is now open for all three sessions. CBP is imposing a two-person limit per company. For further information please follow this link: C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Training Seminars.
Incoterms Misunderstood: The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has sent an urgent letter to World Customs Organization Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya advising that Turkey, Japan and Argentina customs administrations have apparently misunderstood the implementation of Incoterms 2010. According to the ICC the three aforementioned customs administrations have prevented goods from entering their territories because the accompanying documents reference DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid). A copy of the letter is available by following this link: ICC Letter on DDU Shipments. If you or your company are experiencing difficulty making DDU shipments we suggest that you provide a copy of this letter to your freight forwarder and request that it accompany the documents to destination.
Annual Customs Broker Fee Due in March: CBP has advised that the annual customs broker fee of $138.00 is due no later March 18, 2011. A copy of the notice can be viewed by following this link: Annual Broker Fee Due.
C-TPAT Annual Security Profile Review Due: CBP is reminding C-TPAT members that they are required to update their security profile. According to CBP all C-TPAT members will receive an auto-generated e-mail from CBP advising the member that they are required to update their security profile. Once received the C-TPAT member will have 90 days to complete the update. Members failing to meet the 90-day deadline will be suspended from the program. For more information and to review CBP's instructions for completing the Security Profile Update please follow this link: C-TPAT Profile Update Instructions.
BIS Issues $3.75 Million Fine: The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Industry and Security has imposed a fine of $3.75 million on PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. based PPG Industries, Inc. The fine resulting from conspiring to violate the Export Administration Regulations, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other charges is one of the largest in history. For more information please follow this link:
Press Release for BIS Fine.
CBP Publishes User Fee FAQ: CBP has made a FAQ on User Fees available to the trade. For a copy of this document please follow this link: CBP User Fee FAQ.
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 | Wisps of Wisdom
| Don't Underestimate the Value of Training
Successful trade compliance organizations usually have one thing in common, they frequently train and communicate expectations to their customers and stakeholders. This training can be verbal, written, in e-learning form or any combination thereof; and it should be designed to be informative and value added. In some cases, where applicable, samples or stories should be used to underscore the importance of following the rules and being compliant. Training should be offered to anyone who will listen including, vendors, suppliers, service providers, the C-Suite and any other department within the company that has a hand in exporting or importing product.
Training is especially important when new rules or regulations come into play, like the recent revision to the Incoterms or the recent implementation of the Importer Security Filing.
The cornerstone of any good compliance program is frequent and excellent communication.
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Web Based HTS Tool
Trade Innovations and our sister company TRG Direct are pleased to announce and introduce a new web-based tool for classifying goods in the Harmonized Tariff Schedules. TRG Classify delivers a 10-digit HTS number to you quickly and accurately by walking you through a step-by-step identification process. The logic in this sophisticated tool is based on the General Rules of Interpretation. TRG Classify is offering free webinar demos of this state-of-the-art system. For further information please visit the TRG Classify web site following the link below.
| Click here to visit the TRG Classify site
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 Importer Security Filing (ISF) Made Easy | |
Often called "Turbo-Tax" for importers, TRG Direct's best-in-class ISF and direct-filing application is extremely intuitive and very easy to use.
Leveraging all of the system functionality you can literally file your ISF's in a matter of seconds. TRG Direct's web based system is very versatile and allows multiple users. No permits or licenses are required and any importer can file their ISF's directly with CBP; and your ISF data can now flow directly to a customs entry.
TRG Direct's pricing ($5 per ISF, or $3 per ISF if you also file your customs entry with TRG Direct) can save your company up to 90% off current market rates. TRG Direct accepts both XML feeds and Excel uploads to expedite the filing process even more.
Contact TRG Direct today for a free demonstration of the system.
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