Previous Articles by Catherine J. PetersenThe Importance of Meeting Deadlines in a Letter of Credit
7/30/2012 - by Catherine J. Petersen Whether you are new with letters of credit or have years of experience, they are a headache. It's important to remember that a letter of credit does not guarantee payment. You are at risk of not getting paid if you don't meet the deadlines included in the letter of credit.
The Proper Valuation of Parts Replaced Under Warranty
7/16/2012 - by Catherine J. Petersen The proper valuation of goods sent as warranty replacement items is an important topic for many firms. It is the responsibility of the firm who has the business relationship with the overseas customer to establish true replacement values for their goods. There are many reasons why it is important to establish the proper valuation.
"Dear Cathy" Discusses Certificates of Origin
1/9/2012 - by Catherine J. Petersen Most of our goods come from Asia, and we do not further manufacture or assemble any of the goods. Some of our customers are in Latin America. Many of them ask us to provide them with either a NAFTA or CAFTA Certificate of Origin. Are we obligated to provide such a Certificate?
"Dear Cathy" Discusses Amending Export Paperwork After the Shipment
10/3/2011 - by Catherine J. Petersen Our company received a very high value letter of credit from our customer in Dubai. Later, our sales and engineering team negotiated with the buyer to have one part ship directly from Italy to Dubai, but they did not amend the letter of credit. In addition, all our paperwork states that the country of origin of all the merchandise is USA. Help!
"Dear Cathy" Discusses the Commercial Invoice Value of Samples
8/29/2011 - by Catherine J. Petersen Many times we ship items to customers free of charge as an incentive for a bulk order or just as samples for them to try out. I've always thought that their actual value must be listed on the Commercial Invoice whether we charge the customer or not. Usually when I do that, however, I always make a notation on the Commercial Invoice stating there was no charge to the customer. The value was for customs use only. Is that the correct approach to a shipment of this nature?
"Dear Cathy" Discusses How to Correct Errors in Shipment Paperwork
7/25/2011 - by Catherine J. Petersen We have an export customer who placed a telephone order for a shipment of goods they needed quickly. When we received a hard copy of the purchase order it was actually from the parent company and not the subsidiary. All documents, including the commercial invoice, ocean bill of lading, AES filing, etc. show the subsidiary company as the customer. Is there any way we can correct the documents to show the correct customer at this point before it clears customs overseas?
"Dear Cathy" Discusses Tools for Finding Proper Classifications
4/4/2011 - by Catherine J. Petersen I have a question regarding the use of Schedule B Codes relating to spare parts. We manufacture compressor systems and sell a majority of them with accessories that enable the system to perform. These accessories could be stainless steel 90° elbows or a rubber drive belt. When we export an entire system with parts we classify it under Schedule B Code [8414.30.1080] with the accessories included under the same code since it is an item that has been dissembled under GRI 2a. We've never had a question about these classifications.
When we sell just a drive belt alone, we've been classifying it under the code identified as parts [8414.90]. Is this correct?
"Dear Cathy" Discusses Alternatives to FOB
3/7/2011 - by Catherine J. Petersen Since FOB is no longer recommended to be used for container shipments under the Incoterms® 2010 Rules, what term would be used in the following scenario? The seller wishes to ship a container from Long Beach, California, and pay for all origin port costs including loading onto the vessel. But the buyer is responsible for ocean freight charges to destination and costs beyond. Would we say FCA Vessel Long Beach, CA, or would it be CIP Vessel Long Beach, CA?
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