INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
International Trade Law Articles
Customs classification, export controls, sanctions, and the compliance work that keeps cross-border business moving.
426 articles
Country of Origin Marking Rules for US Imports
Country-of-origin marking is the legal requirement that nearly every imported article tell the U.S. buyer where it was made. The rule comes from 19 U.S.C. § …
Country-of-Origin Marking Rules for Exporters
For US exporters, country-of-origin marking is governed mainly by the country you are shipping to, not by US law. The familiar US marking statute — 19 U.S.C. § …
CPSC Rules for Importing Consumer Products
If you import consumer products into the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the agency you have to satisfy beyond Customs — and its …
Crypto Sanctions Compliance: An OFAC Playbook
A crypto business has to comply with OFAC sanctions exactly as any other U.S. financial company does — there is no digital-asset exception. That is the single …
Customs Valuation for Exporters: How It Works
Customs valuation is how customs authorities decide the dollar value of goods for the purpose of charging duties — and the figure almost always starts with the …
Customs Valuation: How to Value Imports for CBP
Customs valuation is how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) decides the dollar value of your imported goods so it can calculate the duty you owe. The …
Data Analytics for Sanctions Compliance
Data analytics earns its place in sanctions compliance by fixing the exact failures OFAC blames for real violations — badly configured screening, missed name …
Defense Export Controls: An ITAR Compliance Guide
Complying with U.S. defense export controls means three things: figure out whether your product or technology is on the U.S. Munitions List, register with the …
Denied & Restricted Party Screening for Exports
Restricted party screening means checking everyone in your export transaction — the buyer, end user, consignee, and intermediaries — against U.S. government …
Do U.S. Exports Have Export Duties or Taxes?
The United States does not impose export duties or export taxes — the Constitution forbids it. Article I, Section 9 states plainly: “No Tax or Duty shall …
Dual-Use Export Controls: How to Classify Items
A dual-use item is a good, software, or technology with both civilian and military or proliferation uses — and controlling one starts with classifying it …
EAR Compliance: How to Meet U.S. Export Rules
EAR compliance comes down to answering four questions about every shipment: what is the item, where is it going, who will receive it, and how will it be used. …
ECCN Explained: Classifying Items Under the EAR
An ECCN — Export Control Classification Number — is the five-character code on the Commerce Control List (CCL) that identifies where a dual-use item sits under …
End-User Certificate: What Exporters Need to Know
An end-user certificate is a document in which the buyer or recipient of an export formally states who will ultimately use the goods and for what purpose, and …
Export Compliance Audit: A Practical Guide
An export compliance audit is a structured review of a company’s export transactions, records, and internal controls to confirm they meet the requirements …
Export Compliance Audits: How to Prepare and Pass
An export compliance audit is a systematic review of whether your shipments actually followed export law — and the best way to manage one is to run it on …
Export Compliance for E-commerce Sellers
The single most important thing to understand about e-commerce export compliance is that a low shipment value does not exempt you from U.S. export controls. …
Export Controls 101: EAR, ITAR, and OFAC
U.S. export controls run through three regimes, each at a different agency: the EAR (commercial and dual-use items, run by the Commerce Department’s BIS), …
Export Controls Glossary: Key Terms Explained
Exporting spans customs, controls, and sanctions, and its terminology mixes U.S. mechanisms with international ones. This glossary defines the export terms that …
Export Documentation: The Exporter's Checklist
Every U.S. export shipment needs a core set of documents — a commercial invoice, a packing list, a transport document, and, for most shipments, an Electronic …
