Governments around the world are cracking down on export-related violations and the often unsuspecting companies who commit them. These companies are then hit with hefty fines and penalties, usually related to an easily-avoidable vulnerability in their export compliance program (ECP). The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has released an eight step guide on how to implement an ECP that will help to shield your company from these export violations. Unfortunately, for small to midsized exporters these eight steps can be daunting.

In June 2017, President Trump announced forthcoming changes to the Cuba sanctions program in his "National Security Presidential Memorandum Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba" ("Cuba NSPM"). These changes reflected modifications to be made to the broader Cuba reform initiated by former President Obama in January 2015 - much of which is still in effect today. While a surprising announcement in itself, US citizens and residents (luckily) were not subject to the restrictions until the policy was shaped into official regulations.

Last month, Amber Road broadcasted the webinar, You KNOW Your Customer: But What about ALL of the Parties in Between You? Our presenters, Steve Swanson, Director at Amber Road, and Steve Keighley, Solutions Consultant at Amber Road, received numerous questions throughout the webinar. Unfortunately, they 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:

As companies begin to expand and increase their exports, their risk profile increases exponentially. Supply chains are dynamic, so the number of contacts your organization interacts with changes constantly. If you are not actively screening your customers and ALL of the parties in between, you could already be at export compliance risk. Would you be willing to risk paying high fines, jeopardizing your company's reputation, or even your personal freedom because of your organization's current screening processes?

Negotiations resumed the first week of September in Brussels over Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU). Since the last round of talks in July, the United Kingdom (UK) has published a series of position papers on various Brexit issues, including the future customs cooperation with the EU (Open for Business: Customs at the Forefront of the UK’s New Special Partnership with the EU). There is also talk of a transition for the immediate period after Brexit. Real chances of discussing these issues are not dependent on Great Britain alone, but on what transpires at an EU October summit authorizing the start of trade negotiations.

The second round of the NAFTA Modernization negotiations concluded on September 5th in Mexico City. Although progress was declared by the three parties, they have chosen to postpone discussions of major sticking points. The second round of negotiations included tabling two dozen drafts for a modernized NAFTA agreement.

Chief U.S. negotiator and US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, concluded the second round on a conciliatory note. In his closing statement, Lighthizer indicated that the United States, Mexico, and Canada “found mutual agreement on many important issues.”

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.

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.

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.