A free trade agreement (FTA) is a formal agreement between two or more countries to reduce or eliminate barriers to trade in goods and services and to increase cooperation on issues such as intellectual property and environmental protection. FTAs can be bilateral, meaning between two countries, or multilateral, meaning between three or more countries. There are currently 3,461 active free trade agreements globally.

Import trade compliance is the process of ensuring that imported goods comply with applicable laws and regulations in the country of import. Trade compliance includes several activities, such as classification, valuation, licensing, and record-keeping.

The Commodity Control List (CCL) is a list of items that are subject to export controls promulgated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in accordance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The CCL is divided into ten categories, further subdivided into individual commodity classifications.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO is the only international body with the mandate to harmonize customs procedures and practices across its 182 Member Customs administrations.

The nexus between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and international supply chains is a complex one. To begin with, it is essential to understand that ESG factors can have both direct and indirect impacts on supply chains. For example, a company’s carbon emissions can directly impact the environment in which its suppliers operate, while its labor practices can indirectly impact supplier employees.

Machine learning can help importers determine the correct HS classification for their products by providing a more efficient and accurate way to identify the correct classification code for a product. In the past, importers would have to manually search through the Harmonized System (HS) codebook to find the correct code for their product. This process is time-consuming and often results in errors.

Let’s start with the basics. What are industry standards, and why do they matter?

Industry standards are the norms or conventions established by an industry or sector. They can be voluntary, such as in the case of best practices, or they can be mandatory, as is often the case with regulatory requirements.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend toward the digitization of trade standards. This has been driven by several factors, including the increasing use of digital technologies in the global economy, the need for more efficient and effective trade processes, and the desire to reduce the costs associated with traditional paper-based trade.

The term “supply chain optimization” is used to describe the process of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s supply chain. The goal of supply chain optimization is to minimize waste and maximize customer satisfaction by ensuring that the right products are delivered to the right customers at the right time.

In recent years, there have been many advances in technology that were supposed to make global trade easier, faster, and more efficient. The problem, however, isn’t a lack of innovative solutions but that they are not being adopted on a large enough scale to make a real difference. This needs to change.

As the proverb goes, nothing is certain but death and taxes. But certain though they both may be, it's still worth investing a bit of time and energy to try and lawfully avoid them. Fortunately, government customs authorities have given us a bevy of ways to minimize import taxes, also known as customs duty.