Free Trade Agreements

Questions and answers about Free Trade Agreements

  • CERTS OF ORIGIN

    QUESTION: I am in a new job and have noticed that the company provides a lot of generic certificates of origin with their shipments.  Generally there is one certificate for each shipment regardless of any blanket period listed on the sheet.   I will stress that at this time, we are NOT providing any NAFTA certificates […]

  • AGOA CLAIMS

    QUESTION: Does a supplier in South Africa need to apply to export under AGOA benefits?  If so, how does the application process work? If an approved AGOA exporter in South Africa purchases parts from a non approved AGOA exporter and then exports the parts to the US, is it possible for the US importer to […]

  • KORUS FABRIC COMPLIANCE

    QUESTION: I want to know according to the non compliance ruling if I have fabric from Korea that is cut in USA and sent as cut parts into a CAFTA country to be sewn and exported into USA Is this still compliance or not ? The fact that has been cut in USA made it […]

  • GSP ADDED FOR HANDBAGS

    QUESTION: Can someone in the handbag industry or anyone following GSP advise a timeline for the travel goods and handbags added to GSP?  Originally they were estimating a July 1, 2016 implementation.  Is this still on schedule?  Anyone expecting any pushback that delays implementation? ======================== ANSWER: You might want to check with the American Apparel […]

  • LATAM FTAS IN ENGLISH

    Question: I am trying to find English versions of the text for Free Trade Agreements between Brazil and other South American countries.  I want to determine the rules of origin, the countries involved, the duty rate if not free and any possible taxes that might be incurred shipping from Brazil.  Would anyone in the membership […]

  • KORUS DATA SUBSTANTIATION

    Question: We are asking our Korean supplier to provide evidence of compliance with the US-Korea FTA. According to CBP’s verification requirements, the Importer is responsible for substantiating the validity of a preference claim. 1- Can the membership advise, has any company been able to obtain such supporting documents from their Korean supplier? Has the membership […]

  • US CHILE FTA QUALIFICATION

    Question: If the amount of just labor and overhead for the production of a US finished article (made from both US and imported parts) is greater than 35% (build up method), would a good be considered as qualifying for the US Chile FTA? Can labor and overhead be considered in the equation as value of […]

  • USIFTA

    Question: Does anyone in the Membership have experience with usage of the US/Israel FTA? We’re looking for advice relating specifically to that FTA.  Anything we need to watch for, any pitfalls or peculiarities unique to that FTA? **************** Answers: Read the instructions carefully, it is clearly a valuation qualification approach.  You will need cost accounting […]

  • JORDAN FTA QUALIFICATION

    Question:   We are looking at importing goods from Jordan under the US-Jordan FTA. For that FTA, 35% of the value must originate in Jordan with up to 15% of US input counting toward the 35%. We had some questions as to what would qualify as a “direct cost of processing” in Jordan. I am […]

  • TRADE PREFERENCE QUALIFICATION TIMES

    Question: We are a CPG manufacturer that is asked to certify a large number of complicated products under various FTAs each year, namely NAFTA and CAFTA. Although we begin gathering the necessary product information from our customers in early October, and we begin soliciting certifications from our own vendors that cover various key components around […]

  • FTA vs TRADE PREFERENC

    Question: With TPP on the forefront, can anyone give me an good explanation of the differences and similarities between FTAs and Trade Preference Programs?  A matrix for comparison would be very helpful. **************** Answers: legislation-wise they are structurally identical ****************** A trade preference program is a unilateral agreement. Preferential treatment is allowed for goods coming […]

  • FTA DIRECT SHIP RULE

    Question: Many of the Free Trade Agreements require that the goods move from the origin to destination without entering the commerce of a third country.  Has anyone done the following scenario?  Did it meet the FTA requirements?   A German company buys USA origin steel and has it shipped to Mexico. In Mexico, the steel […]