TradeLane

Like salmon swimming up the river to find a place to spawn, it benefits importers to look at the flow of shipments, ultimately to move upstream to gather relevant data. If you wait until the last minute to get something done, it can feel like a tidal wave of activity coming at you. You may ultimately see delays in the customs clearance of your shipment, for example.  Even if you manage to hustle to pull everything together in a frenzied rush, is that the best mode to conduct an organized work process? 

After what seemed like a relatively calm few weeks in International Trade (relatively speaking), the winds have suddenly picked up, catching many off guard this morning and wondering if we were simply in the eye of the storm all this time. So, what happened? 

For most retailers, the focus on trade compliance is usually on store merchandise. Most overlook the fact that the compliance of visual merchandise (furniture, lighting, store décor, etc.) is just as important if they are imported from overseas and the company/brand acts as the importer-of-record to those goods.

More news on the US trade remedies front. 

Steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) duties under Section 232 that were initiated on National Security grounds, appear to be even more onerous as the Trump administration has announced that products targeted for Section 232 advanced duties will lose the benefit of GSP trade preference. 

There is great concern that other free trade programs may be similarly affected on Section 232 products. 

Expect supply chain disruptions, higher costs, and litigation.

Thailand is well known as a beautiful country filled with friendly people - the ‘Land of Smiles’. Given this well-deserved reputation, it may come as a surprise that Thailand is also well known in Asia trade compliance circles for very tough customs authorities.

To celebrate the opening of Tradewin Thailand, we wanted to highlight the top 3 reasons for import clearance delays.