Shipping goods into the United States isn’t always a seamless process.  At some point, almost every U.S. importer will experience a clearance delay getting their goods through U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).  What does this mean? In a nutshell, a clearance delay means your shipment hasn’t cleared Customs and is still in their possession.  Most people assume these delays are due to U.S. Customs holding up the shipment’s arrival, however, this isn’t always the case. Some are avoid clearance delays that are not due to any action by CBP.  In fact, there are many rea ..read more

What Is OFAC & Why Is It Important? According to their website, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the US Department of the Treasury “administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States” (Home | Office of Foreign Assets Control (treasury.gov). If y ..read more

Do you slap “Made in USA” labels on your products or advertise in this way?  Can you, without a doubt, declare your products are – in fact – made in the USA?  This is one of the most overused (and misunderstood) proclamations companies make on the market today.  Ensuring accuracy is imperative because the consequences can be expensive. Who regulates “Made in USA” claims? The agency responsible isn’t one you would normally think of when it comes to import or export compliance.  While U.S Customs has their rules on country of origin marking for imports, the Federal Trade Comm ..read more

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”  Sorry, Dorothy, but we aren’t over the rainbow, either.  Specifically, we’re across the ocean … in a place called Russia.  Talking about a Kansas-based company named (wait for it) … KanRus Trading.  Here’s what transpired in this not-so-fairytale ending. Two Americans stand accused of violating U.S. sanctions intentionally and continuously.  Cyril Buyanovsky and Douglas Robertson, of KanRus Trading in Kansas, are accused of smuggling avionics equipment to Russia in direct violation of U.S. export regulations.  ..read more

If your company imports or exports, you might hear the word Sanctions thrown around. You might even feel like Jan Brady and wonder why Marcia gets all the attention or, in this case, Sanctions. What are Sanctions? The word Sanction has several meanings and can be used as a noun or a verb, but in trade compliance, it is an economic measure used against other nations, companies, or individuals who have violated international law. It is also a way to accomplish foreign policy or national security goals. Sanctions are used by imposing trade restrictions or blocking assets. When sanctions are issue ..read more

In November, Binance Holdings, Ltd. (“Binance”) – the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world – paid the largest settlement in OFAC history for alleged sanctions violations.  Together with other agencies, the settlement totaled over $4 billion!  On top of that, the CEO also pled guilty, has relinquished his role, and must pay a personal fine of $50 million.  What happened? A closer look at Binance’s problems In a nutshell, Binance is accused of enabling U.S. customers to trade with sanctioned entities and countries, a direct violation of OFAC regulations.  By offering ..read more

If you’ve spent the last year-and-a-half focused on Russia, hold that thought, and don’t take your eye off other bad actors around the world.  That’s what the U.S. Government is warning with its third joint notice, published earlier this month. The previous two notices were specific to Russia.  Now, the new notice warns U.S. institutions about individuals and entities “seeking to evade U.S. export controls not related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”  The notice was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of Treas ..read more

What are “antiboycott” regulations? These regulations were adopted to encourage and require U.S. firms (in some cases) to refuse to participate in foreign boycotts that are not sanctioned by the U.S.  This would be an “unsanctioned boycott.” In addition, U.S. persons are also required to report boycott-related requests to both the Office of Antiboycott (OAC) at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) as well as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The most common unsanctioned boycott of the U.S. is the Arab League boycott of Israel. What do these regulations prohibit? The regulations prohibi ..read more

Most of us are familiar with, or even actively participate in, rewards programs.  Maybe it’s through your place of employment or your favorite store.  The rewards program can include consumer rebates and loyalty programs, sales incentives and employee rewards and recognition in the form of prepaid gift cards; perhaps to a local coffee chain, holiday gifts, sales bonuses etc. Interestingly enough, the website of daVinci Payments describes themselves “as working on behalf of your company, helping you deliver on-demand payment experiences to your customers and workforce without the cost ..read more

Stop me if you’ve heard this one:  “We don’t make munitions or sell weapons, so we are good on all those export-law requirements.” Statements like this make most trade compliance managers cringe.  Why?  Because there’s so much more to import/export compliance than just “selling munitions.”  I can remember a case, years ago, when GEICO got in trouble for selling car insurance to a narcotics kingpin on OFAC’s SDN List.  (Seriously, Google it.) Or if you’re looking for something more recent, take the enforcement case announced last month against 3M Company.  Based in ..read more