Category: International Trade

International Business, International Trade

TFTEA – CBP Organizational Structure

By Susan Kohn Ross

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act presents many new guidelines for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The labyrinth of the Act is laborious to dissect and is the reason we have created this series of Alerts. This latest edition digs in to the inner workings of CBP’s organizational structure, duties, and implementation expectations. Anyone who works in international trade, whether an importer or exporter of goods or a service provider, will find this piece exceptionally interesting. Continue reading “TFTEA – CBP Organizational Structure”

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International Trade

Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 and Intellectual Property Rights

By Susan Kohn Ross

This article was co-authored with Kevin M. Rosenbaum of MS&K.

On February 24, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, PL 114-125 (TFTEA), which includes an assortment of trade facilitation and trade enforcement provisions, including a number of provisions focused on intellectual property rights (IPR). Section III of the new law provides a number of enhancements to U.S. enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) at the border.  In addition, included among a variety of new trade enforcement provisions in Section VI, the new law provides additional resources to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) improve IPR protection and enforcement in foreign markets. Continue reading “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 and Intellectual Property Rights”

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International Business, International Trade

New Customs Bill Is Now Law

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published in the Journal of Commerce in March 2016

On February 24, 2016, President Obama signed into law H.R. 644. Entitled the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015,” it contains a good many technical revisions to existing Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) processes, procedures, laws and regulations. Much more is included, so there are many topics of widespread interest to the broader trade community, import and export. Continue reading “New Customs Bill Is Now Law”

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International Business, International Trade

Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations Concluded – Now What?

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in October 2015

With the news the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have been successfully concluded, the obvious question is what is next? The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is in chaos. As we go to press, the presumptive new Speaker has withdrawn, the caucus is coming apart, the Democrats are smiling, but the country is suffering. Renewal of the ExIm Bank is subject to a parliamentary ploy where the one thing Congress is supposed to do finally happened – a bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats reached across the aisle seeking to govern the country. Whether their parliamentary move does the trick remains to be seen. Will the House pass ExIm renewal? Continue reading “Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations Concluded – Now What?”

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International Business, International Trade

Trans-Pacific Partnership: Bane or Boon?

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in November 2015

As every international trader worth his/her salt knows, the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was released on November 5th. Given word from the Executive Branch is the agreement is still being “scrubbed”, it is reasonable to conclude the text is not yet final, but is being released, as some of our Canadian colleagues commented about regarding newly elected Prime Minister Trudeau and his Labor Party, to allow the nay-sayers to get their vitriol out now, so that by the time the vote comes, calmer heads will prevail. Whether that is a prudent approach remains to be seen. Continue reading “Trans-Pacific Partnership: Bane or Boon?”

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International Business, International Trade

ACE Deadline Reminder for Imports and Exports

By Susan Kohn Ross

On February 28, 2016, those involved with imports and exports are preparing to undergo a major transition. As of that date, all entries must be filed using the new Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. ACE not only replaces the current Customs and Border Protection (CBP) system, but is designed to reengineer CBP’s operational processes; develop a new technology infrastructure; and integrate commercial, enforcement and administrative operations. The goal is to create a “single window” using the ACE system for imports and exports, and to streamline the process for goods entering and leaving the country. Continue reading “ACE Deadline Reminder for Imports and Exports”

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International Business, International Trade

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has ACE Up Its Sleeve

By Susan Kohn Ross

A version of this article was also published by the Journal of Commerce in February 2016.

What a difference a few days make! Up until Monday, February 8th, it was understood that on February 28th, CBP entries, and those filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) (Lacey Act) would all have to be filed through ACE. Thirteen more PGAs were scheduled to come on-line in July 2016, full implementation for all remaining electronic portions of the CBP cargo process was scheduled for October 2016 and ACE for all agencies and all purposes would be operational by December 2016. Continue reading “U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has ACE Up Its Sleeve”

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International Trade

Deflategate and International Business?

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in May 2015.
Deflategate and laptop searches – these are not topics which seemingly have much in common. Their relationship to international business appears even more remote, but like so many international business/commercial issues, their outcome turned on the quality of the policies and procedures of the involved parties.Let’s start at the beginning. Continue reading “Deflategate and International Business?”
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International Trade

Be Careful What You Wish For!

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in June 2015

This oft-stated warning is certainly true for those who engage in international trade. For many years, industry has complained to government about different agencies wanting different information at different times in the release process; some would take the data electronically, while others insisted on hard copies; the data elements were not identical; and, if filers have to input the data more than once, the likelihood of clerical errors rises. Well, all that comes to an end on November 1, 2015 when use of ACE becomes mandatory for all cargo release and entry summary filing. October 1, 2016 is the date by which use of ACE becomes mandatory for all remaining electronic portions of the CBP cargo process. What does this mean for importers and exporters? Continue reading “Be Careful What You Wish For!”

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International Trade

Trade Preference Programs Get New Life

By Susan Kohn Ross

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in July 2015.

In the last few months, there has been extensive press coverage about the President’s trade agenda and the ultimate Congressional grant of Trade Promotion Authority. As noted in that coverage, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (the Trans-Pacific trade deal being negotiated with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (the equally important trade deal proposed with the EU countries – Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece (yes – still, at least as of date of initial publication), Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), are now likely realities, but not in the next few months. Continue reading “Trade Preference Programs Get New Life”

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