International Trade Acronyms

Welcome to our weekly list of acronyms used in international trade.  The acronyms found here represent terms used in logistics, imports, exports, government agencies and more.  This week we cover acronyms that start with “H.”    Please feel free to contribute additional acronyms to the list. 

HAWB	House Air Waybill.
HAZMAT	Hazardous Materials
HBL	House Bill of Lading
HC	High Cube Container
H/H	House-To-House
HMF	Harbor Maintenance Fee
H/P	House-To-Pier
HTSUS	Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
HWA	Hold Without Action

Trump on Trade

Now that Donald Trump set his sights on the next Presidential race, he has started to talk about his potential trade policy. In an interview with Fox News, he stated that the U.S. is losing jobs to other countries and one thing he would do is impose a 25% tariff on goods from China.  He thinks that more jobs will be created in the U.S. because Americans will not want to pay the higher tax.  This plan is likely to generate some opposition, as it does not coincide with the membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  As members, the U.S. works with 140 other countries to promote international trade by reducing trade barriers.  Initiating a 25% tariff on goods from China would create trade barriers and likely result in other countries imposing high tariffs on our exports to their countries.

Keep up with Trump’s trade agenda on Monday Mornings with Trump that airs on “Fox and Friends.

Hunt For Prohibited Kinder Eggs

It’s that time of year when the popular chocolate eggs with a small toy surprise in the middle magically appear in the U.S. Some may think that the Easter Bunny hops across the border with them late at night, but officers at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) know better. Some eggs have been found in passenger vehicles crossing the border from Canada, while others arrived by mail and express courier.

The Kinder Eggs are made of milk chocolate and packaged in a colorful foil wrapper. The hollow center holds a plastic capsule with a toy inside. There are two reasons the eggs have been banned. One reason the eggs are banned is because the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that many of the toys tested posed a potential choking hazard for children. Another reason the eggs are illegal is because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits confectionary products with non-nutritive objects embedded in them. Even if they are cute, tiny plastic toys don’t have any nutritional value. Click HERE to read the recent alert published by the FDA.

Even though the eggs are illegal in the United States, you might be able to find one or two if you hunt hard enough. Check out eBay and Craigslist. I was curious and came up with eggs on eBay and one on Craigslist. I apologize if the links no longer work by the time you try them. CBP or one of the other law enforcement agencies may have been on an early Easter egg hunt of their own to shut these sites down.

Play it safe this weekend; enjoy time with family and friends. Maybe, if you are lucky, you will see the Easter Bunny delivering solid chocolate candy and plastic eggs for the kids to hunt.

International Trade Acronyms

Welcome to our weekly list of acronyms used in international trade.  The acronyms found here represent terms used in logistics, imports, exports, government agencies and more.  This week we cover acronyms that start with “G.”    Please feel free to contribute additional acronyms to the list.

G-7	Organization of 7 industrialized democracies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K.  and U.S.
G-8	The G-7 countries plus Russia
GAO	Government Accountability Office
GATS	General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT	General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GNI	Gross National Income
GNP	Gross National Product
GO	General Order
GRI	General Rules of Interpretation - HTS
GSA	General Services Administration
GSP	Generalized System of Preferences
GTX	Global Trade Exchange

U.S – Panama Agreement Moves Forward

As reported here last week, Panama was working to resolve the tax and labor issues so that the U.S. – Panama agreement could move forward within a few weeks. The U.S. – Panama Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) and labor law changes were the last two issues standing in the way of moving the agreement forward.  On April 18^th, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced that the tax and labor issues have been resolved and the U.S. – Panama Trade Promotion Agreement was ready for discussion with Congress.  The next step is for the USTR to work with Congress to draft the implementing bill and Statement of Administrative Action.  The goal is to see the Panama, Columbia and South Korean trade agreements pass by July 2.

Cross-Functional Trade Compliance Teams

Import/Export organizations that developed policy and procedure manuals or participated in trade programs such as C-TPAT, have learned that international trade activities occur in more than one department within the organization. A successful import compliance program requires participation and cooperation of the stakeholders in each department involved in trade activities. Some of these functional areas may not realize how their activities affect trade compliance. For example, the Purchasing Department initiates the import transaction by purchasing goods from a foreign supplier. Therefore, it is important for the buyers to understand the information required to obtain clearance of the imported goods by U.S Customs & Border Protection. Some of the information purchasing communicates to the foreign seller may include invoice contents and country of origin marking requirements. Remember, this is just a portion of the process. Since import/export activities occur in many different functional areas, a committee should be formed to create, review and maintain trade compliance policies and procedures. For general trade compliance, the primary participants should include the following departments.

• Trade Compliance

• Purchasing

• Shipping/Receiving

• Logistics

• Sales/Customer Service

• Finance/Accounting

For C-TPAT, add the following to the list above.

• Human Resources

• Security

• Information Technology

Note: Legal is usually included, but plays more of a consulting role instead of active participant.

FTA Update

Finalizing the three pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and Korea remain key items on President Obama’s trade agenda for 2011. The agreement with Korea is ready for approval. After several years and recent negotiations, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is back on track and will be ready for Congressional approval soon. Approval of the agreement has been delayed due to frequent incidents of violence against Colombian labor union officials and poor employee rights. Colombian officials have agreed to implement greater protection for union leaders and workers by providing tougher laws and penalties and assigning more investigators. The agreement with Panama has been stalled over the transparency of tax laws, but it is possible that those problems could be resolved within a few weeks. No specific dates have been set for submitting the agreements to Congress.

International Trade Acronyms

Welcome to our weekly list of acronyms used in international trade. The acronyms found here represent terms used in logistics, imports, exports, government agencies and more. This week we cover acronyms that start with “F.” Please feel free to contribute additional acronyms to the list.

FA	Focused Asssessment
FAA	Federal Aviation Administration
FAR	Federal Acquisition Regulations
FAS	Free Alongside Ship, Named Port (Incoterms©)
FAST	Free and Secure Trade
FCA	Free Carrier, Named Place (Incoterms©)
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
FCL	Full Container Load
FCPA	Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
FDA	Food and Drug Administration
FDI	Foreign Direct Investment
FEU	Forty Foot Equivalent Units
FIRMS	Facilities Information and Resources Management Systems
FMC	Federal Maritime Commission
FOB	Free on Board, Named Port (Incoterms©)
FOIA	Freedom of Information Act
FPF	Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures
FPPI	Foreign Principal Party in Interest
FR	Federal Register
FROB	Freight Remaining On Board
FSIS	Food Safety and Inspection Service (under USDA)
FTA	Free Trade Agreement
FTC	Federal Trade Commission
FTZ	Foreign-Trade Zone
FWS	Fish and Wildlife Service

Trade Symposium Documents Posted

CBP has posted some of the speaker bios and presentations for the 2011 CBP Trade Symposium on their web site.  Click HERE to check out the presentations on CBP Trade Strategy, Intellectual Property Rights, the Lacey Act and more!  Thanks to CBP for posting these presentations early!

Export Training Videos

Check out the informative export training videos on the U.S. Census Bureau website.  The site currently contains 20 short videos covering topics such as export classification, Automated Export System (AES), freight forwarders, the Commerce Control List (CCL) and embargoes.  The videos are presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

International Trade Acronyms

Welcome to our weekly list of acronyms used in international trade.  The acronyms found here represent terms used in logistics, imports, exports, government agencies and more.  This week we cover acronyms that start with “E.”    Please feel free to contribute additional acronyms to the list.

EAA	Export Administration Act
EAR	Export Administration Regulations
ECCN	Export Control Classification Number
ECN	Export Control Number
ECO	Export Compliance Officer
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange
EEI	Electronic Export Information
EFTA	European Free Trade Association
EIN	Employer Identification Number
EIP	Electronic Invoice Program
EMCP	Export Management and Compliance Program
EMS	Exort Management System
EN	Explanatory Notes
ENC	Encryption - EAR License EXception
EO	Executive Order
EO	Empowered Official
EPA	Environmental Protection Agency
ERIC	Electronic Request for Item Classification
ETA	Estimated Time of Arrival
ETD	Estimated Time of Departure
EXW	Ex Works (Incoterms©)

Congratulations New COAC Members

Last week, CBP Commissioner Bersin announced the 20 members of the 12th term of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations “COAC.” Committee members will work on topics such as trade facilitation and cargo security; safety of imports and protection of intellectual property rights; management by account and the interaction of all government agencies in the border environment.

The Journal of Commerce reported that COAC will discuss the role of the customs broker in the supply during the next meeting on April 12th.

The members of COAC are:

1. Leman “Chip” Brown, Jr. – FedEx Trade Networks
2. Scott Childers – The Walt Disney Company
3. Colleen Clarke – Roanoke Trade Services, Inc.
4. Mary Ann Comstock – UPS Supply Chain Solutions
5. Jeffrey Coppersmith – Coppersmith Global Logistics
6. Robert DeCamp – A.N. Deringer, Inc.
7. Matthew Fass – Maritime Products International
8. William Ferguson – NYK Link (North America) Inc.
9. Michael Ford – BDP International
10. Carol Hallett – US. Chamber of Commerce
11. Donald Huber – General Electric Company
12. Karen M. Kenney – Liberty International, Inc.
13. Karen Lobdell – Integration Point
14. Kathleen Neal – A.O. Smith Corporation
15. James Phillips – General Motors LLC
16. Edward “Ted” Sherman – Target Corporation
17. Barbara Vatier – Air Transport Association
18. David Vitale – Urban Partnership Bank
19. George Weise – Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services
20. Jeffrey Whalen – Nike, Inc.

Congratulations! We look forward to the leadership and contributions of these members and the group.