Global trade experts will explain the importance of automating trade compliance processes and the difficulties oil and gas companies face, as well as present recent developments in the industry. By attending this webinar, you will walk away with:

-  A better understanding of the export compliance challenges oil and gas companies are facing
-  Various strategic considerations to think about when implementing an automated trade compliance solution
-  Best practices you can use to improve your company’s export compliance processes

Speakers will include:
Scott Byrnes, Vice President of Marketing, Amber Road (formerly Management Dynamics, Inc.)
Natalia Shehadeh, Director of Trade Compliance, Weatherford
Scott Johnston, Attorney, Specializing in U.S. Import/Export Law, Givens & Johnston, PLLC

Join us and find out how you can automate your trade compliance process!

Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that it has changed its name to Amber Road.  The name change comes during a year of rapid expansion, marked by a 40% growth in employees, a 325% increase in European bookings, and the opening of a flagship office in Tysons Corner, Virginia.  This breakout year is anchored by a 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in overall revenue for the past decade. 

“Today, our SaaS-based solutions span fourteen software products that include global transportation management, import/export compliance, supplier management, supply chain visibility and a content knowledgebase covering trade regulations and tariffs for more than 120 countries, “  said Jim Preuninger, CEO.

To learn more, please read the full press release or visit www.AmberRoad.com.

Proponents list a host of benefits from FTAs, including:

- Expanded access to markets for both goods and services

- Greater protection of intellectual property rights

- Growth in jobs that would accompany the opening of new markets

Taking this into consideration, Management Dynamics offers a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) management solution that provides solicitation and qualification in order to determine if a company’s product is eligible for preferential treatment. This can have a significant impact on the applicable duties for their products resulting in reduced total landed costs.

To learn more about the Free Trade Agreement Solution, read the full press release here.

Management Dynamics today announced the release of Export On-Demand 1.2, its export compliance solution for small and medium-sized exporters. The new release provides for enhanced compliance screening and management of export licenses. Easily configured and deployed in a SaaS-based model, Export On-Demand can be implemented in a modular fashion without the cost and expense of an on-premise solution.
 
“This latest release of Export On-Demand improves support for global exporters with enhanced embargo and restricted party screening, as well as a new license determination and management module,” stated Nathan Pieri, senior vice president, marketing and product management for Management Dynamics. “The modularity of Export On-Demand allows our clients to first establish a foundation by managing product compliance and screening parties, then adding successive capabilities such as global license management, document generation and filing.”
 
To learn more about the features available in Export On-Demand 1.2, read the full press release.
 

• Suzanne Richer, President, Customs & Trade Solutions, Inc.
• Scott Byrnes, Vice President of Marketing, Management Dynamics, Inc.
• Moderator: Lara Sowinski, Managing Editor of World Trade magazine

 Join us TODAY, Tuesday, April 19 at 2pm EDT.  Register now!
 

This pact is expected to increase U.S. exports to Colombia by more than $1 billion a year, and could result in the creation of thousands of American jobs. Congress must approve the agreement before it can be implemented.

So what are the benefits to U.S. exporters?

• A majority of U.S. agricultural exports to Colombia will become duty-free and almost all tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years
• 80% of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial goods to Colombia will also become duty-free, with the remaining tariffs being eliminated over the next 10 years

It’s unclear when the agreement will be sent to Congress for a vote, but many feel that confirming the deal now is critical. Doing so will allow the U.S. to maintain an economic foothold in the country.

For more information, check out the full article.

Join our webinar, Best Practices for Managing Free Trade Agreement Management Processes, to learn how your company can successfully implement and optimize NAFTA.  Broadcasting live on Tuesday, April 19 at 2pm EDT, presenters will address key findings from this industry benchmark study.  Presenters include:

• Suzanne Richer, President, Customs & Trade Solutions, Inc.
• Scott Byrnes, Vice President of Marketing, Management Dynamics, Inc.
• Moderator: Lara Sowinski, Managing Editor of World Trade magazine

 Join us on Tuesday, April 19 at 2pm EDT.  Register today!

In BusinessWeek’s March 9 article, China’s Facebook Syndrome, the authors discuss the idea that China’s blocking of the social networking site could be viewed as a barrier to trade. 

Since 2009, China has blocked Facebook, the world’s largest online social media network. This year, Renren, one of China’s largest social networks, plans to raise $500 million on the New York Stock Exchange (NYX). So a Chinese social network can tap U.S. capital markets, but American social networks can’t tap Chinese consumer markets. Does that sound fair?

According to the article, the idea of internet censorship as a barrier to trade has been floating around since 2007 when the global director of Google presented it to the Office of the US Trade Representative, but has been treated similar to walking on eggshells due to China’s economic position, the legal reach World Trade Organization (WTO) trade laws towards censorship, and the unprecedented matter of the situation. The trend is inching towards de-censorship and openness of the internet though; for example a nonbinding clause protecting “cross-border information flows” is a part of the still-unratified Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and stricter language regarding censorship is being “considered” for other future Trade Agreements. Whether this trend becomes actualized with China, however, is up in the air.

Here’s the problem: While the USTR has been quietly inserting language in trade agreements, perhaps to cite as precedent in some future negotiation with China, it’s playing a game of inches. China’s Internet users, some 400 million-strong, make up the largest Internet market in the world, one U.S. social networks are largely prevented from competing in. But if the U.S. moved more aggressively and brought a trade case before the World Trade Organization, it could alienate China, disrupting trade in other products—and the outcome would be uncertain. “They are definitely trade barriers,” says James Bacchus, a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig in Washington and a former WTO apellate judge. “Whether they are illegal under WTO trade laws is another matter.”

Baidu - Google's Chinese Nemesis

There is also an issue of fairness backing opponents of Chinese censorship. At the same time as Facebook is banned in China, several comparable social networking sites, including the Chinese version of YouTube which is also banned, are listed on US stock exchanges. Renren, a Facebook-esque social network which may not even exist without censorship, plans to raise $500 million on the NYSE this year. Consider if Facebook were exporting corn or wheat, the issue of a barrier to trade would be much louder.

Part of the reason the issue is not headlining is due to the lack of pressure which has been put on lawmakers. While Google has put up a fuss about China’s online censorship, it also acknowledges that the issue is about human rights, first. Google spokeswoman, Niki Fenwick, admits “When a government blocks the Internet, it is the equivalent of a customs official stopping goods at the border”. The wording of the standard WTO admission agreement, which China signed, does not help either, as it includes exceptions for enforcing national values and protecting public safety. Any push towards a barrier to entry ruling would be met with an argument that censorship protects China’s citizens from elicit material such as pornography.

The effort to promote visibility and open trade lanes between Chinese and international web users will not be resolved fully or quickly, at least not anytime soon. However, gradual inch-by-inch progress could be made to loosen policies and laws.  Lee-Makiyama, of the European Centre for International Political Economy, states that while “the WTO cannot get rid of censorship”, it could compel China to abandoned its worst practices, namely the lack of transparency of censorship policies. With knowledge of China’s notoriously socialistic politics and economic power, United States lawmakers looking to at the very least make more of an issue of this must apply necessary focus and pressure to the opening of the internet worldwide.

At the same time Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma also proposed to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan a joint revolving $9 billion fund to help finance an industrial corridor between New Delhi and India’s financial capital, Mumbai. Japan and Japanese companies already have invested in the project, which started in 2007 and is expected to attract more than $100 billion in investments.

And two days later, India signed a FTA with Malaysia, reported Voice of America.

To learn more about FTAs, check out this webinar on Moving Beyond Global Sourcing to Trade Agreement Management.