All about NAFTA and its Impact if You Have to Abide by It

Why Should You Attend:

While the purpose of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is to allow duty free or reduced duty status by moving goods originating in the NAFTA territory, it is wrought with complex regulations, especially in the area of Country of Origin determination. Many companies have unknowingly violated NAFTA by shipping merchandise that is not of NAFTA origin. Much of the confusion lies in that even though the product ships from one NAFTA country to another, it may have been purchased from a non-NAFTA originating country. Similarly, manufacturers often use a combination of NAFTA and non-NAFTA originating components that in many cases will not qualify the finished article for NAFTA origin.

This webinar will address these complex regulations in detail with examples of how to correctly determine Country of Origin along with compliance in HTS classification and valuation. It will illustrate the complexities where incorrect application of the law may result in violations, thus leading to fines and penalties. The attendee will take away detailed knowledge of these regulations so that they may apply them to their current NAFTA sales programs to insure compliance with the NAFTA.

This webinar will also contain a detailed discussion of how to use Annex 401 to determine the Regional Value Content (RVC) for Country of Origin determination of the finished article. It will dispel common myths and misunderstandings of shipping products under the NAFTA Rules of Origin.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Overview of the NAFTA
• General Rules of Origin A - F
• Completion of the NAFTA Certificate of Origin
• Recordkeeping Requirements
• Questionnaires, Verifications and Audits
• Penalties
• Resources
• NAFTA Risk Assessment

Who Will Benefit:

• Sales/Marketing
• Exporters
• Importers
• Purchasing
• Accounting
• Shipping/Receiving
• Engineering/Manufacturing
• Customhouse Brokers
• Compliance personnel completing the NAFTA Certificate of Origin
• Customer Service
• Logistics
• Transportation
• Legal

Instructor Profile:

David G. Ross, has specialized in Global Trade Compliance and Logistics Management from small business to Fortune 500 Companies for over 25 years. Mr. Ross has held mid to upper management positions in the industrial, consumer products, high technology freight forwarding/logistics and aerospace/defense industries. He has performed over 100 focused trade compliance assessments/audits for our clients. He has extensive experience as a duly empowered official (Atty in Fact as approved by the B.o.D) for Trade Compliance and Global Logistics in his corporate functions. He has established and chaired corporate compliance and logistics councils at the executive management level whose focus was both US export/re-export regulations and Supply Chain/Logistics optimization. He has also overseen responsibilities for direct shipments from overseas affiliates subject to US export controls on both product and technology transfer. He has developed Technology Control Programs (TCP) as well as implementing strategic security initiatives such as the Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and ITAR security controls with our clients. He possesses extensive experience in product classification and licensing for the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Regulations (BTAFE) and US Customs and Border Protection Regulations. For ITAR controlled articles, David has managed export licensing applications and authored Technical Assistances agreements for various defense contractors.

He has traveled and provided trade compliance training to firms with over 300 public and private seminars to North America, Europe and Asia. He has also provided Supply Chain Process Engineering/Re-Engineering management and consulting services using LEAN and Six Sigma methodologies. He has extensive compliance management and licensing expertise with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Office of Foreign Assets Control, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BTAFE) He has served most recently, reporting to Vice President and General Counsel as the Trade Compliance Officer and Empowered Official for a world leader in high technology refractory metals with annual global sales totaling $1.2 billion. He is a sought after speaker for various Trade Compliance Industry Organizations and has given presentations and panel discussions throughout the world on trade compliance and logistics topics.

Topic Background:

Intermediate North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) principles are designed for companies that are currently making shipments to Canada and Mexico under the NAFTA, which provides either duty free or reduced duty status for any product that originates in the NAFTA territory of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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