Customs Compliance 101: Leaping Regulatory Hurdles
By Staff -- Logistics Management, 12/1/2007
Companies operating in the global supply chain are grappling with an increasing number of regulatory hurdles, and no one has a better handle on them than Susan Kohn Ross, attorney-at-law at Rodriguez O’Donnell Ross. In this webcast, Ross discussed a wide range of regulatory hurdles, including the Safe Port Act of 2006, which contains directives that will change the way importers communicate and interact with customs. Shippers that don’t keep up could find themselves buried under substantial burden from both a cost and administrative perspective.
Ross discussed the tools and techniques that shippers can use to make their supply chains fully compliant with trade laws and regulations. With more than 20 years of experience in the areas of customs, international trade, transportation, and import/export law, she provided the latest information about cargo claims and cargo damage, and also addressed C-TPAT, customs law, export law, FDA law, government relations, import, international trade law, international transportation, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) , OTI (Ocean Transportation Intermediary)/forwarder/NVOCC (Non-vessel operating common carriers), and trade law issues.
Ross highlighted the recent news surrounding recalls on pet foods, toys, food, and toothpaste as proof that companies can no longer ignore global trade issues. Take China, for example. Ross says 40 percent of all toys recalled in 2007 were manufactured in China, where 19.1 percent of the domestic consumption products are either substandard or tainted. Knowing this, Ross says American companies should be asking themselves key questions like: Why should I care? How will this affect my sourcing, purchasing, transportation, imports, and exports? How can I not care? Does my company really want to be known for its products that kill or make people sick?
Those companies that chose to ignore regulatory issues can quickly find themselves in hot water. That means major enforcement, penalties, fines, and other serious consequences. Ross singles out major U.K. manufacturer Cadbury as one company that discovered a problem and neglected to act timely. Ultimately, the company incurred $3 million in fines.
“So long as price drives the deal, you have to be concerned about standards, compliance, and quality,” says Ross. “That means managing your vendors and business partners, and looking at the effectiveness of your track-and-trace system.” She points to the four key areas that every company needs to be up to speed on as international labor standards, international environmental standards, security, and Sarbanes-Oxley.
“This is no longer just for the big guys,” says Ross. “In the regulatory environment that we operate in, it’s clear that we have to change how we’re doing business.”
The following links offer a synopsis of the seven individual Webcasts that made up this year’s GSCC.
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The Five Core Disciplines of Strategic Supply Chain Management
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KEYNOTE: Supercharging Global Logistics: Creating Shareholder Value Through Operations Excellence
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Leveraging Hybrid Transportation Networks to Accelerate Product Flow from Asia
Register to view the Global Supply Chain Conference sessions on-demand.
Container Security: Is it working?
09/30/2009Keeping up with customs
07/31/2007
View All On-Demand Webcasts