Tag Archive for trade agreement management

The Importance of Global Trade Content for Managing Free Trade Agreements

June 12, 2012 Caroline Amber Road, Free Trade Agreements, Free Trade Management, Global Trade Management, Global Trade Management Software, Trade Agreements No comments

With the May 14th presidential proclamation putting the US-Colombia free trade agreement into force, it has never been more critical for GTM software users to understand the importance of the trade content that powers their solutions. Because FTAs specify changes in rules of origin and HS codes, it is important that organizations using global trade management software ensure that their vendor made the appropriate updates to the underlying trade content and put them in place immediately.

By having access to these trade content updates, organizations are able to find potential reductions in landed costs due to preferential treatment as of the effective date. Supply chain managers should be able to run scenarios that reflect preferential rates as they make sourcing decisions.

To learn more, click here to read the Supply Chain Digest article written by Anthony Hardenburgh, Vice President of Global Trade Content at Amber Road.

Presidential Trade Proclamation Signed to Implement the U.S.-Colombia Trade Agreement

May 18, 2012 Caroline Amber Road, Free Trade Agreements, Free Trade Management, Global Trade Management Software, Press Release, Trade Agreements No comments

On May 14, 2012, President Obama signed the presidential proclamation that put the United States-Colombia free trade agreement into force. Designed to promote the flow of certain goods and services between the countries, the free trade agreement was years in the making.

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.

US-South Korea FTA Goes into Effect Tomorrow!

March 14, 2012 Caroline Export Compliance, Free Trade Agreements, Free Trade Management, Global Trade Management, US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement No comments

The US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement will go into full effect tomorrow, March 15, 2012.  With this FTA, roughly 80% of US exports of industrial products to South Korea will be duty free, while two-thirds of US exports of agricultural products will also become duty-free.

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.

NAFTA Benchmarking Survey

May 24, 2010 Caroline Export Compliance, Global Trade Management, Trade Compliance No comments

Are you interested in learning about the best practices of firms qualifying product for NAFTA and other Free Trade Agreements?

Many firms walk away from these duty savings due to the difficulty of learning origin rules or due to the time-frame involved in accurately qualifying a product for reduced duties – even when the benefits are significant.

Please participate in a survey on how companies manage NAFTA qualification! With the results, we hope to advance industry knowledge of best practices and better understand overall use of NAFTA processes across a wide spectrum of organizations.

Take NAFTA SurveyTake the 2010 NAFTA Benchmarking Survey

This is a brief survey and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Your answers are kept strictly confidential and will be reported anonymously.

Customs & Trade Solutions, Inc. and Management Dynamics are working to identify best practices when dealing with the complexities of NAFTA. Our goal is to identify best practices, and pass those along to you so that your company may benefit from improved processes and procedures.

The results will be used to prepare a report which Management Dynamics and CTSI Advisors will distribute during the AAEI Annual Conference, June 6-8. If you plan to attend the AAEI Conference, please stop by our booth for a copy of the results. Otherwise, we will email you a copy when it’s ready.

Click Here to Take the 2010 NAFTA Benchmarking Survey

The survey will close on June 2nd, so please be sure to participate early.

Please refer to your own company’s policy on whether this would be considered a work-related activity, and be sensitive to what data about the company can be provided.

Foreign Trade Zones: Management Dynamics & FTZ Corporation Partner Up

May 12, 2010 Caroline Foreign Trade Zones, Global Trade Management, Trade Compliance No comments

Management Dynamics and FTZ Corporation Announce Strategic Partnership

Alliance will Integrate & Expand Use of Foreign Trade Zones in Global Trade Management

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, May 12, 2010 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with FTZ Corporation, a leading provider of Foreign Trade Zone consulting services and developer of the SmartZone Premier application. The partnership seeks to expand the use of foreign-trade zones integrated with core Global Trade Management (GTM) processes of import compliance, export compliance and trade agreement management.

Foreign Trade Zones have been in use for nearly seventy six years with the passage of the Foreign Trade Zones Act of 1934 to expedite and encourage foreign commerce. Foreign Trade Zones are now a key component of U.S. trade policy and offer companies several opportunities to reduce costs with:

  • Exemption of duty payment upon re-export of goods
  • Relief from inverted tariffs where raw materials with high duty rates can be transformed to an end product with a low duty rate
  • Use of consolidated weekly entries to reduce merchandise processing fees (MPFs)
  • Deferral of duty on any inventory stored within an FTZ

For many companies these benefits can justify the investment in a Foreign-Trade Zone in the first year of operation.

“Foreign-trade zones are becoming an integral part of a company’s GTM strategy and their use is expanding given the strong value proposition and fast pay back,” said Craig Pool, President, FTZ Corporation. “Our customers are looking to integrate foreign-trade zones across their GTM processes and we look forward to working with Management Dynamics to deliver this solution.”

FTZ Corporation has extensive experience, having implemented over two hundred and fifty Foreign-Trade Zone projects. The company is also active in Washington D.C. with involvement in recent industry advancements including the passage of Weekly Entry legislation and opening up the benefits of Foreign-Trade Zones to new industries. FTZ Corporation offers a complete set of implementation services including the application to the FTZ Board and activation of the zone with Customs and Border Protection. Combined with the implementation of SmartZone Premier software, FTZ Corporation can cut the time to first benefit with a “turnkey” implementation.

“Implementing a foreign-trade zone program can generate millions in recurring savings and is a key initiative for companies as the global economy is rebuilding,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO, Management Dynamics. “FTZ Corporation has a tremendous track record of success in this industry and we look forward to working together to expand the GTM market.”

For more information on capitalizing on free trade agreements, watch our Free Trade Agreement Webinar or download our Free Trade Agreement Benchmark Report.

About FTZ Corporation
The Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation is the only nationally recognized consulting firm with a practice focused on Foreign Trade-Zone consulting. The firm provides a wide range of consulting work from Foreign-Trade Zones Board applications to activations with Customs and Border Protection, and administers nine foreign-trade zone projects. Its management of these projects is in keeping with the Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation’s philosophy that there is no substitute for hands-on-experience.