Previous Articles by Mark NevilleThe Nasty Underside of FTAs
5/7/2007 - by Mark Neville Of course it makes great sense for an alert importer to maximize its savings through duty planning and to examine whether sourcing through one of those countries enjoying a free trade relationship with the United States will work for it. But that same importer must remember that a strategic program that takes advantage of a free trade agreement (FTA) to lower duties is only as good as the importer’s ability to prove eligibility for the FTA.
Tariff Shift Rule—What It Does and How It Works
3/19/2007 - by Mark Neville It bears repetition that the duty reduction benefits of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) program are limited to those products that meet the eligibility criteria set forth in each of the FTAs. Unless the goods qualify, and unless the importer is able to prove to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) satisfaction that the goods qualify, they are not going to benefit.
Shipped Directly Means…Shipped Directly
2/19/2007 - by Mark Neville Goods qualifying under a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are treated differently from other goods. One of the hallmarks of the FTAs in place is that the economic benefit of duty-free or reduced duty treatment is strictly limited—by treaty, statute and regulations. The benefit of an FTA is reserved for those goods which qualify under the applicable rules of origin.
Free Trade Agreements Viewed from Afar
1/8/2007 - by Mark Neville The important point to remember about Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is that they all have two things in common. The good news is that a FTA confers the benefit of duty-free or reduced-duty treatment to qualifying importations. The bad news is that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) views FTAs as "give backs," and they take a very conservative view and are strict about the documentation needed to qualify an imported product. In a related bit of further bad news, safeguard legislation is in place to re-impose trade barriers if the FTA proves to be too much of a good thing.
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