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.