Weapons Manufacturer AirTronic USA Keeps Hypervigilant with Restricted Party Screening

Posted by Julia Gorman on October 27, 2017

Manufacturers across all industries run a deep risk with ensuring their exports remain compliant with government regulations. These risks increase exponentially when dealing with highly restricted products.

As companies become increasingly global, the examples of those who break sanctions continues to grow at an alarming rate. A recent and large-scale example is the Chinese international technology company, ZTE, that plead guilty to selling electronics to Iran. In the settlement, ZTE agreed to pay $1.19 billion in fines, making it the largest criminal fine in a United States sanctions case.

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Topics: Export Compliance

Cyber-Security Measures Should Include Supply Chain Vigilance

Posted by Eric Sternkopf on October 24, 2017

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness month, an important reminder to increasing supply chain resiliency with comprehensive denied party screening.

The supply chain is one of the most collaborative environments in an organization, making it one of the most vulnerable. Maintaining a technologically secure global trade environment--while still providing access to all necessary parties around the globe--can seem daunting in today’s fast-paced, digital world. Cybersecurity weighs heavily on the and it is easy to understand why. The speed and global reach of the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware event, which spread over 150 countries in hours, brought home to many companies the cyber risks of an extended supply chain.

Attacks like these, while necessary to defend against, aren’t the only risks companies face in the global supply chain. Companies often think only about securing their networks and digital assets against cyberattacks and breaches, but don’t always protect themselves against criminal entities lurking in the trade shadows.

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Topics: Export Compliance, Restricted Party Screening

Make No Mistake, Denied Party Screening & Sanctions Apply to Embassies Too

Posted by Gary M. Barraco on October 12, 2017

It’s always hot news when Amazon is referenced in a story, but this time the online retail marketplace giant is in hot water. In August 2017, the media reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed an investigation into the company’s processing and delivery of thousands of dollars worth of orders of consumer products, (including jewelry, home and kitchen appliances and musical instruments), to individuals and entities connected with Iran. Amazon is being investigated for delivering orders to an Iranian embassy, as well as to an individual who may have committed, threatened to commit or supported terrorism.

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Topics: Export Compliance, Restricted Party Screening

GEODIS Selects Amber Road to Boost its Trade Compliance Capabilities

Posted by Kelsey Barker on October 11, 2017

European companies face increasingly complex global trade regulations, especially when ensuring compliance with global sanctions and embargo lists. That's why GEODIS, part of SCNF Logistics, decided that it needed an automated solution to screen its third-party trade partners. 

As a leading European transport and logistics provider with a worldwide network, GEODIS is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of trade compliance. Historically, verification of customers, partners and transactions was handled semi-independently in each of GEODIS’ five lines of business, with some oversight by the group Customs department. As part of its continual drive to improve standards while increasing efficiency, GEODIS looked for a way to automate and centralize those processes.

Using the Restricted Party Screening module in Amber Road’s Export On-Demand solution, GEODIS will be able to transform its screening processes, replacing numerous disparate and partial systems with a single system covering its worldwide operations.

“Solidifying our compliance systems allows GEODIS to grow in a more assured way, as it protects us from risky transactions and enables us to prove to customers that we are compliant with export control regulations,” said Bruno Beauvillier, Group Customs and Export Control Director at GEODIS. “We chose Amber Road because of its ability to maintain hundreds of lists, and the presence of a local Amber Road team in France gave us great value in supporting our decision process.”

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Topics: Export Management, Export Compliance, Restricted Party Screening

Did You Miss Out on BIS Update? Join Our Recap Webinar!

Posted by Kelsey Barker on October 9, 2017

The Bureau of Industry & Security's annual Update Conference wrapped up last week in DC, where government officials and industry leaders learned and exchanged ideas about export control issues. Attendees discussed hot topics such as trans-shipments, national security, end user errors and enforcement, and the ZTE penalty - the largest ever assessed.

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Topics: Export Management, Automated Export System (AES) Filing, Export License Management, Export Compliance

Export Compliance Violations - Are You In Danger Too?

Posted by Mandy Hyde on September 19, 2017

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.

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Topics: Export Management, Export Compliance

Making Lemonade in the Age of Trade Restrictions

Posted by Nick Fabretti on September 11, 2017

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.

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Topics: Import Management, Export Management, Import Compliance, Export Compliance

NAFTA 2.0 – Round One of Negotiations

Posted by Jonathan Dicks on August 29, 2017

The first round of negotiation meetings of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 2.0 were held in Washington D.C. on August 16-20, 2017. The negotiating parties convened to modernize the NAFTA agreement (implemented in 1994) at the request of the Trump Administration. Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the Agreement, unless new terms (favorable to the U.S.) are struck.

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Topics: Import Compliance, Export Compliance, Trade Regulatory Content, Free Trade Agreements

Global Trade Academy – Export 3-Day Boot Camp

Posted by Nick Fabretti on May 5, 2017

Customs has increased its focus on exporters with higher fines and tougher penalties. As an exporter, are you aware of your compliance responsibilities? Do you know how non-compliance can impact your organization?

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Topics: Export Compliance, Global Trade Academy

Export Control Violation Leads to Billion Dollar Penalty

Posted by Joseph Gabro on April 28, 2017

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

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Topics: Export Management, Export Compliance, Restricted Party Screening, Export Violations

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