TradeLane

On January 16 2016, the United States announced that they are lifting certain US sanctions against Iran that are consistent with the announcement of Implementation Day and in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released a general guidance document regarding the lifting of US sanctions under the JCPOA.

Did you know that the first football match Queen Elizabeth attended was the 1953 FA Cup Final? Did you know that, during her reign, there have been 12 prime ministers? Did you know that the queen has, during her entire reign, answered around three and a half million items of correspondence?

Obviously, there’s a lot to know about the Royals. They are inescapable if you live in the UK. The Queen is on all of our money; we pay taxes and import duties to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Heck, I even pulled all those facts off of royal.gov.uk.

As a trade consultant, the Royal family is not the only kind of royalty I am interested in. There is also plenty to know about Royalty Payments and how they impact the declared value of goods when they are brought into the European Union.

As we all know, the Union Customs Code (UCC) changes are going into effect on May 1, 2016. We at Tradewin have had our ears to the ground waiting for the latest updates on these changes and how they may affect customs programs and procedures, such as Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status.

From what we have learned, the UCC will have a big effect on EU traders.  

Under the new UCC, AEO licensing and the Binding Tariff Information process will be among the first changes implemented.

Most of us have heard of the terms “sanctions” and “embargoes”. They are often used interchangeably, but they are quite different.

Trade sanctions target specific types of transactions, as in a prohibition to sell arms to a specific business, country, government or regime. An embargo represents a complete prohibition of all trade activities between countries.

Sanctions and embargoes are political tools used throughout the world.

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.