TradeLane

The dynamics of trade are changing.

Perhaps this is nothing new, trade has always evolved and changed, but I think we would be hard pressed to find an instance in modern peacetime when trade has been asked to adapt so quickly. TPP, Brexit, NAFTA, and steel tariffs, which would have been the biggest stories just months ago, are now muffled background noise to the rhetoric of a Trade War between two of the world’s most important economies.

2017 is in the books and was, by many accounts, a tumultuous year for the world. President Trump began his presidency that continues to transform world politics, the U.K. triggered Article 50 to begin the Brexit process, Mohammad bin Salam in Saudi Arabia is reshaping the Middle East, there is saber-rattling on the Korean Peninsula, and I have not even mentioned China.

Every corner of the world is experiencing a level and a speed of change and transition that we typically only see in wartime. There was also that solar eclipse in North America. How cool was that?

International affairs is on top of everyone's mind these days, especially as a new US administration transitions into power.  Questions about trade agreement, tariffs, and foreign policy swirl, and while no one has the ability to see into the future, a look at the actors, some of their statements, and some of the law behind it all may help companies at least prepare for the future state.

It is our 20^th anniversary here at Tradewin.

Can you believe it?

I think if you asked any of us here 20 years ago what Tradewin and the rest of the world would look like today, many would be amazed.

There seems to be a great deal of uncertainty amongst those tasked with their company’s international trade compliance. There is ongoing discussions of a wall, of a trade war with Mexico one day, and with China the next, or a 20% tariff on certain manufactured goods coming into the US.

I know a lot of trade compliance people, and I mean a LOT. Most of us are cut out from a similar cloth, or at least the same weave.

Uncertainly isn’t something that sits well.

Many of my customers are starting to field questions from senior management on what the future will hold for their supply chain, and how they should be adapting.