TradeLane

I used to live in the USA. I spent a year in Corvallis, Oregon when I was ten years old. I remember it as one of the happiest times in my life, except for being confused about my national identity. Most of my elementary school classmates thought that I was from North Korea. This is not surprising since the North Korea nuclear issue had been surfacing at that time during George H. W. Bush’s presidency. North Korea is still a frequent topic on the famous American TV show, Conan, to this day.

Well, it’s that time again and even though it has been 15 years since I sat down to take “THE TEST,” it still gives me butterflies just thinking about it.

So, if you are taking the U.S. Customs Broker’s Exam on April 4^th, whether it is for the first time or the fifth, I thought it would be nice to take a few minutes to remind ourselves why we take the test and what the best study tips are.

I’m from Massachusetts. I grew up with snow and ice. However, I guess I have lost my edge since I have been living in Singapore for the past six years. At the moment, I am in Seoul Korea celebrating the opening of Tradewin Korea and it’s cold…! It is about 25°F (-4°C), which my head tells me is really not that cold but my body tells me differently. My boss (Boston based) says I’ve developed ‘thin blood’ living in the tropics…maybe so.

Last April I wrote a blog post, ‘Springtime in Shanghai’, celebrating the opening of Tradewin China. I thought it would be appropriate to do the same now that we are opening Tradewin Korea! 

So does the expression, “don’t blink or you’ll miss it,” ring true with anyone? Like your daughter was two, you blinked, and now she’s a freshman in high school? That would be me! That is so not the case with the reconciliation prototype. I have been blinking for almost 18 years and for the most part, the prototype remains largely unchanged.

So, I don’t blame those of you that haven’t reviewed the January 13, 2016 draft release of the Reconciliation Entry Summary Create/Update ACE ABI CATAIR document. It’s easy to miss things you aren’t expecting or looking for. If you are not familiar with the CATAIR, think CFR’s for programmers. I know, yawn.

The “encouragements” that Adam Smith refers to are none other than Duty Drawback. In the United States, drawback has been a fixed part of trade policy since 1789 when the Founding Fathers understood that a thriving domestic economy required robust international trade. 

By allowing exporters of products to draw back duty imposed upon its initial importation, it puts those exporters on an equal footing with their overseas competitors. 

Simply put, better-priced products sell, well, better.