International Trade Blog

In the exporting industry, we tend to talk about our roles in general terms: I’m the exporter, you’re the importer, he’s the freight forwarder, etc. However, these terms aren’t always precise enough.

In some circumstances, it's more accurate to say "I am the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI)" instead of "I am the exporter." It's important to understand the difference in meaning between these two terms.

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How many ways are there to classify things? When my kids were little my mother bought them way too many Beanie Babies, but sometimes it was fun (and kind of educational) to classify them. The Beanie Babies could be organized by type of animal or by color or by what they ate or type of habitat.

You could say that governments do the same thing with goods. Sometimes goods are classified on the basis of their objective characteristics. Sometimes they are classified based on their use. Today I’m going to compare two types of classifications, the Harmonized System (HS) codes and the Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCN).

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Incoterms 2020 rules are the latest revision of international terms of trade published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). They are recognized as the authoritative text for determining how costs and risks are allocated to parties conducting international transactions.

Incoterms 2020 rules outline whether the seller or the buyer is responsible for, and must assume the cost of, specific standard tasks that are part of the international transport of goods. In addition, they identify when the risk or liability of the goods transfers from the seller to the buyer.

In this article, we’re discussing the Incoterm CIP, also known as Carriage and Insurance Paid To.

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Doing business internationally means responding to requests for certain documents, certain statements on documents, or additional terms and conditions.

When exporting, firms create certain standard documents: a commercial invoice, a packing list, and a certificate of origin. International customers may request additional documents to satisfy their country’s import requirements, letters of credit, sales contracts, or purchase agreements. One of those additional documents is a Manufacturer’s Affidavit.

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Since Shipping Solutions unveiled its online portal for generating electronic Certificates of Origin (eCO) in April 2019, almost a thousand U.S. exporters have registered for free for the service and successfully generated hundreds of Certificates stamped by the American World Trade Chamber of Commerce (AWTCC). By utilizing the eCO portal, these companies have reduced the time and expense they’ve traditionally spent on creating their Certificates.

During the past several months as we’ve talked with users and prospective users of the eCO service, we’ve compiled a list of several frequently asked questions (FAQ) that we posed to Wendy Baggett, president of AWTCC, the Chamber that stamps the Certificates created through the portal:

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Invoices play an important role in the export process. The invoice is the single document that describes the entire export transaction from start to finish.

When completed properly, the invoice provides important information to the buyer, freight forwarder, customs, the bank, and other parties in the international transaction. Done wrong, it can cause confusion, delays and disagreements.

Too many exporters—particularly new exporters—don't understand how the invoices they prepare for their exports often require more information than they may include on the invoices they use for their domestic sales. I get too many calls from exporters whose shipments are stuck in customs, or they're having trouble getting paid because their invoice is incomplete.

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Incoterms 2020 rules are the latest revision of international terms of trade published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). They are recognized as the authoritative text for determining how costs and risks are allocated to parties conducting international transactions.

Incoterms 2020 rules outline whether the seller or the buyer is responsible for, and must assume the cost of, specific standard tasks that are part of the international transport of goods. In addition, they identify when the risk or liability of the goods transfer from the seller to the buyer.

In this article, we’re discussing the Incoterm CPT, also known as Carriage Paid To.

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World Trade Month is scheduled for May 2020, and the WorldTradeMonth.com website is publishing a calendar of international-trade-related events scheduled to be held throughout the United States that month.

If your company or organization is hosting events during May 2020, simply complete the form located on the World Trade Month website to add it to the directory of events.

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Export compliance regulations don't just apply to the big guys. Even the smallest U.S. businesses that send their products to customers outside the country are subject to a variety of export regulations and could face substantial penalties for violating these rules.

Unfortunately for many small and medium-sized businesses, company personnel may not know these requirements until it's too late.

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Occasionally I’ll get a call from someone who says, “I’m almost done filling out my NAFTA Certificate of Origin. I just need to know how to complete items 7, 8 and 9. What do I put in those columns?”

Well, that’s the rub isn’t it? The rest of the form is easy, but the meat of it is in those three columns. Those columns determine whether your goods deserve preferential duty treatment under the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

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