According to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the tariff reductions in the Agreement will expand exports of US goods alone by more than $1.1 billion, supporting thousands of additional American jobs. The International Trade Commission also projected that the Agreement will increase US GDP by $2.5 billion. The Agreement will remove significant barriers to US goods from entering Colombia’s market, as over 80 percent of US exports of consumer and industrial products to Colombia will become duty free immediately, with remaining tariffs phased out over the next 10 years.

Because the agreement specifies changes in rules of origin and HS codes, Amber Road was anticipating the formalization with the necessary updates to its extensive body of trade content, known as Global Knowledge^®. Amber Road’s trade specialists constantly monitor government information feeds from around the world to ensure that the Global Knowledge^® database is kept current as trade regulations change.

In fact, the US-Colombia FTA is affecting 20,681 HS codes and 858 rules of origin. Amber Road’s customers will see these changes within 24 hours of the effective date of the agreement. No other vendor in the industry provides that level of service when it comes to trade content.

You can read the full press release here. To learn how Amber Road can help your company realize the benefits of an FTA program, check out our Trade Agreement Management brochure.

Amber Road surveyed 150 mid-market companies about their export compliance processes. They found that 23% do not screen for restricted parties prior to engaging with trading partners and customers, and only 41% have a comprehensive export compliance program in place. Not surprisingly, survey respondents pointed to a lack of executive sponsorship as a primary reason for their companies’ trade compliance deficiencies.

To learn more, read the full press release, or download a copy of the white paper.

Mr. Tappin was investigated by The Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  ICE established a front company for the purpose of detecting potential illegal exports.  U.S. authorities allege that an associate of Mr. Tappin dealt with the front company to purchase items which were then exported to Iran via the Netherlands. 

To read more about this case, click here.

This case illustrates the extent to which the U.S. government will go to convict people (and companies) that commit export violations.  It further demonstrates that anyone can be extradited and charged for violations of U.S. export control laws, regardless of their place of residency, and even if there are no equivalent laws in their country of citizenship.

Ensuring compliance with government export rules and regulations is a complex process.  Effectively screening
against restricted party lists, determining license requirements, and generating the necessary documentation for a shipment is often a challenge for exporters.

Learn how your company can automate (and simplify) these processes.  Check out Amber Road’s Trade Export brochure.

The International Trade Commission estimates that the reduction of South Korean tariff and non-tariff quotas on goods alone will add between $10 and $12 billion to the annual US GDP, and around $10 billion to annual merchandise exports to South Korea.  According to Ron Kirk, Ambassador of the U.S. Trade Representative, once the agreement goes into effect, it will open up South Korea’s $1 trillion economy and strengthen our economy’s partnership with a key Asia Pacific Ally.  To read more about the new free trade agreement, click here.

Is your company prepared to take advantage of this duty-saving opportunity?

The most common reason companies do not take advantage of FTAs is the administrative burden of identifying applicable FTAs and qualifying products. With over 100 FTAs in place around the world, manually administering trade agreements is understandably difficult. Global Trade Management solutions, however, can help you manage the solicitation and qualification process with your suppliers.

To find out how your company can automate this complex process and take advantage of the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, check out Amber Road’s Trade Agreement Management solution.

According to Ron Kirk, Ambassador of USTR, the ITEC is among the most significant commitment of resources and expertise since the establishment of the USTR. The purpose of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center will be to coordinate U.S. trade rights under international agreements, monitor unfair trade practices, as well as identify and eliminate foreign trade barriers. These tasks will hopefully curb the production of counterfeit and unsafe goods and improve market access for U.S. exporters. The ITEC will also strengthen trade enforcement of intellectual property laws.

Chairman of the House Trade Working Group, Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), said, “Signing this order brings us one more important step closer to the level of trade enforcement we need to counter the predatory practices of countries like China.”

Based on the signed executive order, the mission and function of The Interagency Trade Enforcement Center will be to:

(a) serve as the primary forum within the Federal Government for USTR and other agencies to coordinate enforcement of U.S. trade rights under international trade agreements and enforcement of domestic trade laws;

(b) coordinate among USTR, other agencies with trade related responsibilities, and the U.S. Intelligence Community the exchange of information related to potential violations of international trade agreements by our foreign trade partners; and

(c) conduct outreach to U.S. workers, businesses, and other interested persons to foster greater participation in the identification and reduction or elimination of foreign trade barriers and unfair foreign trade practices.

During the “TradeWizards.com: Answers to Your Tough Trade Questions” webinar, industry experts will review the challenges companies are facing when it comes to importing and exporting, and show you how TradeWizards.com can help combat those challenges.

Speakers will include:
Scott Byrnes, Vice President of Marketing, Amber Road
Steve Keighley, Solutions Consultant, Amber Road

Join us to learn how TradeWizards.com can help you tackle your compliance challenges. Register today!

TradeWizards.com will enable users to instantly perform numerous global trade activities including: restricted party screening, product classification, and landed cost calculations.  What used to require hours of manual interpretation of trade rules is now an automated process achieved instantly via TradeWizards.com. 

Find out how you can streamline the trade compliance process at your company. Watch the TradeWizards.com tutorial.
To read the full press release, please click here.

Global trade experts will explain the importance of automating trade compliance processes and the difficulties oil and gas companies face, as well as present recent developments in the industry.  By attending this webinar, you will walk away with:

• A better understanding of the export compliance challenges oil and gas companies are facing
• Various strategic considerations to think about when implementing an automated trade compliance solution
• Best practices you can use to improve your company’s export compliance processes

Speakers will include:
Scott Byrnes, Vice President of Marketing, Amber Road (formerly Management Dynamics, Inc.)
Natalia Shehadeh, Director of Trade Compliance, Weatherford
Scott Johnston, Attorney, Specializing in U.S. Import/Export Law, Givens & Johnston, PLLC

Join us and find out how you can automate your trade compliance process!

The third and final webinar in this series will be held on Friday, November 18^th at 2:00pm EST and will review Shipment Screening and Documentation, the final step in building an Export Compliance Program.

During this webinar, we will discuss key best practices related to automating your export compliance process, including:

• The importance of transactional screening and why it is a necessary requirement in any compliance program
• How managing product compliance details can help validate the data used on export documentation and reduce delays at the border
• How to leverage the data from the export order to automatically determine and create key export documents and file directly with AES

Speakers will include:
Suzanne Richer, President, Customs & Trade Solutions, Inc.
Sanjeev Williams, Product Manager, Amber Road (formerly Management Dynamics)

Register today and learn how you can take the final step in establishing an Export Compliance Program!

Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that it has changed its name to Amber Road.  The name change comes during a year of rapid expansion, marked by a 40% growth in employees, a 325% increase in European bookings, and the opening of a flagship office in Tysons Corner, Virginia.  This breakout year is anchored by a 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in overall revenue for the past decade. 

“Today, our SaaS-based solutions span fourteen software products that include global transportation management, import/export compliance, supplier management, supply chain visibility and a content knowledgebase covering trade regulations and tariffs for more than 120 countries, “  said Jim Preuninger, CEO.

To learn more, please read the full press release or visit www.AmberRoad.com.