Before a product can be
imported into the U.S., a shipper must satisfy regulations of at least 13
government agencies from Customs and Border Protection to the Transportation
Department.
Other countries require
the filing of as many as 30 forms, some on paper, according to Brandon Fried,
executive director of the Washington-based Airforwarders
Association, which represents companies that handle air-freight shipments.
United Parcel Service Inc.,
Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc. and FedEx Corp. are among companies hopeful that a
Dec. 7 World Trade Organization agreement will establish common procedures and
cut red tape that can leave perishable goods rotting on piers. The WTO says the
accord may boost the global economy by $1 trillion.
Trade ministers from the
WTO’s 159 member nations meeting in Bali, Indonesia, unanimously agreed on
measures to make customs rules more transparent, expedite the release of perishable
goods at ports, promote the use of electronic payments and adopt common customs
standards, according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Trade Representative’s
office.
“What this agreement is
doing is facilitating the movement of everything to electronics,” Laura Lane,
president of global public affairs for UPS in Washington, said in a phone
interview. “We think it will drive greater volume.”
The WTO’s general council
still needs to adopt the agreement, which may not happen until July. Critics
say the measures amount to little more than a commitment from member countries
to update their customs rules rather than address more serious issues.
Lori Wallach, head of the
Global Trade Watch program at Washington-based Public Citizen, said it’s too
early to tell whether the agreement will measurably boost trade.
“If you think of the
countries that have a large volume of trade, a lot of them already have
computerized, streamlined customs,” she said in a phone interview
UPS and Memphis,
Tennessee-based FedEx for years have advocated making goods flow more easily
through customs, something they say can create jobs for small- and medium-sized
businesses in particular.
FedEx sees the Bali deal
as making “global trade simpler, more transparent and more predictable,” Michael
Ducker, chief operating officer of FedEx Express, said in a statement.
The deal will expedite
customs procedures by allowing for pre-clearance before goods arrive at ports,
Michelle Wein, a research analyst focusing on trade
at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, said.
“The major beneficiaries
of the Bali deal are the developing countries,” particularly in sub-Saharan
Africa, Wein said. “It’s really aimed at integrating
them into global supply chains.”
Even in the European
Union, companies must comply with different laws in each of the EU’s 28 member
states. according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s
office.
“Companies large and small
will now find it simpler, faster and less costly to access the markets” of the
WTO’s member states, Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement on 9 December.
Jane Taeger,
director of compliance at Samuel Shapiro & Co., a Baltimore-based customs
broker and freight forwarder, said the Bali agreement may ease the burden on
importers that lack the manpower to comply with existing rules.
Some importers don’t take
advantage of the lower duties offered through U.S. free-trade agreements with
nations such as Chile or Colombia because of the red tape involved in proving
the goods originated in those nations, she said.
“It’s very burdensome for
importers to maker free-trade agreement claims
because they must substantiate it,” she said. Taeger
said some importers could reduce costs by as much as 16 percent
if they could more easily comply with customs procedures.