On February 29, 2016, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freeland, and the European Union’s Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, announced the completion of the legal review of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). After many years of negotiations, this European Union (EU) and Canadian treaty could finally be signed at the forthcoming EU-Canada Summit in Brussels on October 27, 2016. The EU considers it to be “a milestone in European trade policy” and “the most ambitious trade agreement that the EU has ever concluded.”  Those in favor of CETA argue that it will boost trade between the EU and Canada. Critics argue that the agreement is unduly favorable to businesses and may lead to a lowering of regulatory standards.  With a provisional application possible in the near future, let’s take a closer look at what’s at stake and why CETA matters.

Free trade agreements (FTAs) open up market access between signatory countries by reducing barriers to trade, which makes it easier and more cost effective for U.S. companies to export their products and services to trading partner markets. However, this process isn't always that easy. For many trade compliance professionals, the most complex challenge is understanding and navigating the various “rules of origin.” Rules of origin are highly complex and technical rules that describe how exported goods shipped to a country or region may qualify for duty-free or reduced-duty benefits under the applicable trade agreement.

Continued from Chapter 4: Logistics

Minimizing duties is one of the fastest and easiest ways to squeeze significant financial returns out of a company's global supply chain. Duty minimization opportunities come in many forms, but many companies fail to take advantage of these programs due to the perceived difficulty of qualifying for and administering them.

The fifth video in our series explains how automating the duty management process is the best way to reap the benefits – like cutting duties and taxes by 80-100%.

Free trade agreements and foreign trade zones offer an attractive opportunity for US importers to reduce or eliminate duties and taxes, but these benefits hide behind a maze of complex protocols, dense paperwork, and red tape. Sourcing and supply chain executives must also balance duty considerations against material quality, production capacity, and number of components. 

Not all Free Trade Agreements are the same, and one of the most frustrating differences is how they define Rules of Origin. How can you tell which products qualify for each agreement?

Don’t miss my presentation next week alongside Susan K. Ross, Partner at Mitchell, Silberbeg & Knupp LLP, as we discuss Rules of Origin Under Different Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) at the NEI’s Second Annual Global Trade Educational Conference (GTEC). 

On June 21^st, Amber Road in conjunction with American Shipper broadcasted a webinar entitled, Framing the Total Landed Cost Picture. Our presenters, Suzanne Richer and Phanibhushan Reddy from Amber Road, received several questions throughout the webinar, but unfortunately we 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:

Next week, Amber Road will sponsor the FDRA Sourcing Intelligence Summit in New York City on July 18-19. This full-day summit at the New York Stock Exchange will explore global footwear sourcing, supply chain and factory compliance issues and trends, including T-TIP. Industry executives and other experts will share their insights through featured keynotes as well as panels covering specific countries and issues.

The 40-year old Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program has helped many developing countries get a foothold in the US retail market with special duty-free status on imported goods. Established by the Trade Act of 1974, GSP promotes economic development by eliminating duties on up to 5,000 types of products when imported from one of 122 designated beneficiary countries and territories.

NAFTA, CAFTA, TPP, FTZ... How do you spell “Trade?”

All the acronyms used to reference trade and duty programs can sound a lot like alphabet soup. But they represent a variety of opportunities for exporters to grow their business overseas by making their products more affordable in growing markets. Furthermore, FTAs and FTZs allow importers to dramatically lower the duties and taxes they pay. 

Savings from these programs can be significant, and are often measured in the millions to tens of millions of dollars annually. And yet, many shippers don’t participate because the complexity of each unique trade agreement and the difficulty navigating the regulatory intricacies. 

As you have heard by now, the British public voted in favor of a Brexit, or exit, from the European Union (EU). Of the British electorate, 17.4 million (51.9%) casted their votes in favor of Brexit compared to 16.1 million (48.1%) in favor of continued membership with an overall turnout of 72.2%, which is higher than most expected. So what does this mean for the future of the UK and global trade?