In late April, Omari Wooden became the new Trade Ombudsman for the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division (FTD). He has spent more than a decade working within the FTD, having previously worked as the project manager for the post-departure reporting program in the Automated Export System (AES) Branch. In his new role as Trade Ombudsman, […]

Freight forwarders face a critical dilemma during these perilous times. Should they offer international shippers a “back to basics” approach in serving their customers or will shippers respond more favorably to a diversification of their services?
Answering this question correctly could mean retaining the business and trust of their export customers or losing valued clients at […]

There are many small and medium-sized exporters within the international logistics industry who are unfamiliar with the controls placed on exports. Some are not aware that controls exist or that exports are even regulated by the U.S. government.
The Export Administration Regulations, administered and enforced by the Bureau of Industry and Security, should be the foundation […]

In the early to mid-1990s, hope and optimism were spreading throughout the international trade community in the Western Hemisphere regarding the lowering of trade barriers and the expansion of free trade throughout the Americas. In the current U.S. political environment, it is often forgotten that in the 1990s free trade was embraced by both Republicans […]

On March 17, 2008, an important resolution went into effect that impacts both scheduled air carriers and Indirect Air Carriers (“IAC”). The resolution was established by the International Air Transportation Association (“IATA”) and is known as IATA Resolution 600b (“600b”). 600b was designed to address antitrust concerns and also update the air waybill conditions of […]

The basic tenets of trade, exchange of goods and services, have been components of human existence and interactions during a substantial portion of our evolution. In fact, New Scientist reported in April 2005 that a group of U.S. and Dutch economists points to archaeological evidence that suggests humans specialized and traded within and between regions […]

In hard economic times, it is remarkable how management at companies of every size, type, and description declare their businesses are “getting back to basics.” Not only do they assert their people are concentrating on the nuts and bolts of running a business, they are demanding vendors follow their example. As the smooth, efficient transportation […]

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted in 1977 and has been amended twice since its introduction. In its current form, the FCPA makes it unlawful for a U.S. person to make a payment of any kind to a foreign government official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or otherwise attempting to […]

On June 2, 2008, the United States Census Bureau published its newly revised Foreign Trade Regulations under 15 C.F.R. Part 30 in the Federal Register. The revision makes mandatory the filing of Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) or through AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) is […]

Every day, urgent consignments of both dangerous and non-dangerous goods are loaded on board aircraft and flown as cargo to their destination, thus reducing journey time to hours instead of days or even weeks by road and/or sea.
Air travel is used extensively both for business and leisure purposes, and, to ensure the safety of the […]