In March, Amber Road broadcasted the Union Customs Code - What You Now Need To Know webinar, which focused on an overview of the Union Customs Code from the European view. Our presenter, Arne Mielken, received several questions throughout the webinar, but did not have time to address them all during the live broadcast. We have compiled their answers into a Q&A document - here is a preview:

On April 19, 2016, the President of the United States of America issued an Executive Order, “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry into the United States of Persons Contributing to the Situation in Libya.”

The president issued the below statement on Tuesday, April 19^th in light of the new executive order.

As the price of oil drops, companies need to reconsider their cost-saving strategies and how to manage global supply chains for bottom line impact. Typically, companies focus their efforts only on how they can drive costs down within their supply chain, without considering how their import/export compliance team can improve value.

Determining the country of origin of a good is an important consideration in international trade. The country of origin can affect the duty rate, the eligibility for special programs, admissibility and quota. Also, the marking of products with country of origin information is not only a legal requirement, but also can be a significant factor in consumer purchasing decisions.

Customs–Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a voluntary, joint government-business initiative to help add to supply chain visibility and increase border security. Although generally C-TPAT focuses on imports into the United States, it has more recently opened up to U.S. exporters since they are too exposed to considerable risk. In order to accommodate the requests and expanding parameters, a framework for the C-TPAT program and requirements has been deployed.

Across the pond, European businesses are preparing for the EU Union Customs Code (UCC) to enter force on May 1, 2016. US companies exporting to the EU will also be directly impacted and need to understand how these changes will affect them.

The Union Customs Code (UCC) will finally be applied and enforced on May 1st of this year – with three major caveats: the administrative transitional rules in combination with the IT transitional rules and analysis of the UCC’s 2000+ legal rulebook. Customs’ departments do not need to worry about other bedtime reading for the foreseeable future!

On January 16, 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency certified that Iran had implemented measures to curb its nuclear program. While the EU lifted most of its sanctions, the U.S. provided modest relief in the form of lifting "secondary” trade sanctions directed toward non- U.S. persons and de-listing certain Iranian persons and companies.

Product classification forms the basis for nearly every export/import control, tax, tariff, and fee imposed by Customs and other governmental authorities worldwide. Choosing the correct product classification code is critical for export compliance and for accurate payment of import duties at the port of entry. For this reason, Heraeus, a leading Germany-headquartered technology company, has implemented Amber Road's Global Product Master solution. With this solution, the global precious metals and technology company embarks on its first step to a full export controls program.

A 165-year-old family-owned company, Heraeus greatly expanded its international operations into 11 global business units. To support its international growth, Heraeus established a long-term global trade management strategy, starting with an overhaul of its product classification processes.

The Amber Road solution will centralize product classification for the global group, replacing largely manual classification processes handled ad-hoc by the various business units.  Global Product Master provides a central repository for all trade related attributes and is used to enforce trade policies, provide reporting, and power other trade solutions to automate cross-border transactions.

Last month, Amber Road’s Global Trade Academy broadcasted a webinar Updates to the United States’ Embargo on Cuba. Our presenter, Robin Grover of Amber Road’s Trade Advisory Practice, received several questions throughout the webinar, but unfortunately he did not have time to address them all during the live broadcast. We have compiled his answers into a Q&A document - here is a preview: