Currently, the United States is working and negotiating with several different countries to develop new FTA programs. The poll results came back with another interesting result, in that India was identified as a major country that would be the greatest value back to their company. The audience also informed us that the United States needs to be more aggressive in the world market by establishing several new FTAs for US firms.
The results tell us all some interesting details on how companies today in the US manage the upfront process associated with the FTA. US importers have many challenges when it comes to FTA programs: collecting data and documents up front is an important component, however auditing your FTA programs after the goods have arrived to ensure the accuracy of the details provided is also a crucial step. CBP will audit the import process to ensure the accuracy of the claims, the lack of reasonable care to substantiate the claims for eligibility could result in penalties and loss of profitability.
Each FTA program is different so keeping your company up to date is an important task, creating the infrastructure can be a big help in the collection and retention of the documents involved with the programs.
FTAs are not an easy task - they can become time-consuming in dealing with multiple internal departments as well as the most important one: your customer.
Should you have any questions related to FTAs for your business, please reach out to me directly with any inquiries.
