This is the third of four articles that will discuss the definition and use of the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) and provide real-life case studies (with the names changed) of which firm is legally the USPPI.

As I discussed in my first two articles in this series, one of the biggest changes to the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) required on April 1, 2001, involves the change from "exporter" to "USPPI."

Rather than wanting the name of the exporter on the new SED, the U.S. Census Bureau wants to know which person in the U.S. receives the primary benefits, monetary or otherwise, of the export transactions. Generally that person is the U.S. seller, manufacturer, order party or foreign entity. If you like countless exporters sell under the trade term Ex Works (ExW - Incoterms 2000), then you and the buyer have agreed to a trade term where the buyer selects the freight forwarder.

The following case study illustrates just such a situation:

Seller: John's Fishing Co. Rural Route 5 Brainerd, MN 55555

John's Fishing Co. sold 30 Metric Tons of frozen fish to Hong Kong Fish Trading Co. ExW Brainerd, MN. The buyer's freight forwarder arranged with the ocean carrier to deliver an empty 40-foot refrigerated container to John's warehouse in MN. All transportation charges will be charged to the account of the consignee in Hong Kong.

John's Fishing will be paid under a letter of credit requiring that their company's name appear as the shipper on the international ocean bill of lading and all other commercial documents.

USPPI and the Exporter in this transaction: John's Fishing Co.

John's Fishing Co. will be the USPPI and the exporter because John's Fishing Co. made the international sale and is getting the most benefit from the sale.

If you have sold under the trade term "Exw", you have the responsibility to provide 10 pieces of information to the freight forwarder in this transaction for preparation of the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED). They are:

• Name and address of the U.S. principal party in interest,
• U.S. principal party in interest's EIN (Employer Identification Number),
• Point of origin-State or Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ),
• Schedule B description of commodities,
• Domestic (D), Foreign (F), or Foreign Military Sale (M) code,
• Schedule B Number,
• Quantity/unit of measure,
• Value,
• Upon request by the foreign principal party in interest or its agent, the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) or sufficient technical information to determine the ECCN, and
• Any information that it knows will affect the determination of license authority.

Alternatively, you can choose to file the SED electronically by using the free government service called the Automatic Export System (AES), use AES PcLink or use software like Shipping Solutions export documentation and compliance software. In this case, instead of providing the above list of information, you would provide the forwarder with the AES generated reference number.