International Trade Blog

In a previous article I explained the export license determination process for exports of dual-use items controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

We walked through how exporters must first find the correct Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) of their products and then determine if an export license is required based on what Reasons for Control apply to the export and whether or not any License Exceptions are available.

Today’s article gives a summary of each EAR Reason for Control.

Read More

Have you ever heard the saying, “Love isn’t a big thing; it’s a million little things”? It’s a pretty popular quote that appears on many home decorations, cards and internet memes.

As an exporter, my take is a little different—I think the line should read, “Export compliance isn’t a big thing; it’s a million little things.” And while it might not make for a lovely greeting card, it’s true—your export compliance responsibility isn’t a simple task.

Read More

A variety of U.S. laws and regulations exist to monitor and controls exports from the United States. These laws and regulations are designed to comply with trade agreements, embargoes, sanctions and other political measures the U.S. has with other countries. Most importantly, the laws and regulations are designed to protect U.S. national security so the most sensitive information and technology don't get into the wrong hands.

This is where the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) come in. ITAR is part of a web of laws and regulations prohibiting U.S. individuals and companies from engaging in business with prohibited/sanctioned countries and persons for various economic, financial, anti-terrorism and human rights issues.

Read More

Successful companies use metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure aspects of their performance. Often times, these metrics or KPIs apply to sales, marketing or manufacturing. But they can—and should—be used in import and export compliance functions, too.

When effectively applied, trade compliance metrics drive process efficiencies, provide better visibility, and promote the efforts of the trade compliance group to the executive team and throughout the entire organization.

Read More

If you’re the person at your company who is charged with completing export paperwork, you know how time consuming and tedious it can be. Spending all your time completing export forms makes it hard to do other things that could help you grow your company and improve your exporting.

And while you know these things, it can be difficult to make that justification to the appropriate people at your company, persuading them to invest in export documentation software that can make you more efficient.

Read More

The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) require that companies appoint one or more empowered official to oversee ITAR-related activities.

Before a company can do that, however, they need to understand exactly what an empowered official (EO) does and who can fit that role. And both the company and the person or people who fill that role need to understand the potential liability for their actions.

Read More

As a former defense company employee, I remember when our company would schedule a guided tour for many of our client visitors or foreign national contract employees.

Most employees would not mind being the babysitter tour guide, as we were referred to, but occasionally there were those who felt it wasn’t their job to escort others and that the current security procedures in place were sufficient enough to keep visitors from going into unauthorized areas.

After briefing those skeptical employees on the security and deemed export rules, they still refused to acknowledge the importance of protecting our technology and continued to believe that the deemed export rules were nothing more than someone at our firm trying to hype their position to justify their existence at the company. I’m sure many of you out there know people like this at your companies or have run across those who think this way.

Read More

Ask anyone on the street to define "export," and you'll almost certainly get an answer, and it will probably be accurate (but not complete). Read more at Surprise! You May Be an Exporter Without Even Knowing It.

Ask those same people to define "reexport," and you're bound to get some interesting (and confusing) answers. Really, go try it. It's an interesting way to spend your lunch hour.

Read More

In a previous blog post, I discussed what I had learned by attending a seminar cosponsored by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Minnesota Trade Office. I described how to find an item’s Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) on the Commerce Control List (CCL).

In today’s blog post, I will describe the next step in the process: How to use the Commerce Country Chart to determine if an export license is required based on the reasons for control.

Read More

It may seem easy to become an exporter—particularly since the internet knows no borders—but the scope of things exporters need to be aware of is very broad.

To start with, companies need to identify foreign markets for their products, determine the best method for selling those goods, and make sure they're going to get paid.

They also need to be aware of potential export compliance issues. And to do that, they need to know which U.S. government agency has jurisdiction over their goods and what set of export regulations apply. Without enough information, it can quickly get confusing.

Read More