Trade Compliance

I wanted to address something which everyone asks me "what is trade compliance"?

Let me try to explain in as few words as possible. International trade between countries is governed by a myriad of laws and government regulations, and exporters and importers of goods, services and even sharers of information are subject to these rules. Some of these international trade rules exist for national security (think "high tech") or foreign policy (think "embargos") reasons, while others exist for economic (think "protection of threatened domestic industries") and balance of trade reasons.

Not following the rules can lead to stiff penalties and sanctions, especially in our post 9/11 world. So companies and organizations invest significant resources to make sure they are in "compliance" with the laws and regulations. Thus arose the "trade compliance professional" and his/her need for the information and resources to perform the tasks required to ensure compliance.

In 'trade Library'  its defined as the process by which goods enter the United States in conformance with all U.S. laws and regulations.  It is the goal of the Customs Service to maximize trade compliance while facilitating the importation of legitimate cargo. 

While trade compliance is a core business process for Customs, a significant amount of the burden of compliance is placed upon importers. For example, under section 484 of the Tariff Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1484), the importer is responsible for using reasonable care to enter, classify and value imported merchandise, and provide any other information necessary to enable Customs to properly assess duties, collect accurate statistics and determine whether any other applicable legal requirements, if any, have been met.  The Customs Service is then responsible for fixing the final classification and value of the merchandise.  The failure of an importer of record to exercise reasonable care can delay release of the merchandise and, in some cases, result in the imposition of penalties for acting without reasonable care. 

The law encourages companies that do not have the requisite skills to ensure compliance with all U.S. rules and regulations to seek the assistance of experts to ensure that these requirements are satisfied

After the wall of text. Do you finally understand what i do for a living now?