NAFTA & other Trade Agreements

Free trade agreements between countries — such as the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico — have preferential duty rates for qualifying goods. These preferential duty rates can save you and your foreign customers between 3% and 15%, and eliminate Customs merchandise processing fees (MPF). For most companies, that's a substantial bottom line benefit and a powerful incentive to both supply and request the certificates of origin that confer these benefits.

Costs arise in a variety of ways:

• Paying duties on imports because the vendors NAFTA certificate is late.
• NAFTA processes that are manual, cumbersome, complex and error-prone.
• Labor-intensive paper and spreadsheet NAFTA Certificate processes.
• Difficulties managing large or complicated Bills of Material.
• Complex and tedious product qualification process.
• Reliance on expensive third-party consultants for NAFTA qualification.
• Worries about government NAFTA and Sarbanes-Oxley audits.
• Limited share-ability of electronic NAFTA files.
• Setting up and maintaining Customs approved NAFTA records.
• Duplication of work on existing NAFTA data.

Under SOX, your executive must personally vouch for the truth and fairness of their companies' disclosures, requiring substantiation of all NAFTA claims. Lack of such protocols and procedures is contrary to SOX requirements and could result in significant punitive measures including fines of $5 million and 20 years imprisonment.

If your business has chosen to claim benefits under NAFTA or other free trade agreements, you must be able to prove compliance. Failure to do so can be a criminal offence. By law, you are required to provide correct certificates, complete documentation and audit trails to prove the origin of eligible goods. Penalties can amount to $10,000 per product line entry and denial of future benefits:

Contravention	Penalty
Failure to maintain proper records for five years	• Up to $10,000 fine per import entry or 40% of entered value. • $100,000 for willful behavior or 75% of same
Failure to provide a Certificate of origin upon Customs request	• $10,000 and denial of NAFTA benefits
Submitting false Certificates of Origin	• Action under 19 USC 1592 covering fraud, gross negligence or negligence and denial of NAFTA benefits by Canadian and Mexican authorities.
Failure to provide documentation to support a Certificate or Origin claim	• $10,000 fine against each claim and denial of NAFTA benefits by Canadian and Mexican authorities.
Incorrectly Declaring Goods as NAFTA-eligible	• Action under 19USC 1592 covering fraud, gross negligence or negligence and denial of NAFTA benefits. • Fine of $10,000 per line, per entry.

• Simplifies certificate creation and distribution.
• Centralizes NAFTA Management.
• Provides web-based access for suppliers and customers with databases that cross-reference products with certificates and track and renew certificates before they expire.
• Securely shares information with other branches or divisions by giving them controlled access.
• Automates requests to suppliers for certificates on a shipment by shipment or renewal basis and monitor requests and supplier responsiveness.
• Verifies that certificates meet requirements for completeness.
• Ensures consistent application of preferential duty rates on all qualifying shipments.
• Simplifies electronic record keeping, including immediate on-line access to complete audit trails of suppliers, products and certificates to mitigate against the risk of significant penalties for non-compliance.
• Relays certificate negotiation requirements in advance of purchase, or importation.
• Standardizes supplier certificate of origin instructions.
• Provides immediate access to reliable audit trails for proof of compliance and due diligence.
• Supports an unlimited Bill of Material data warehouse.

1. Do we have to buy software?
2. What computer requirements are needed?
3. How do we receive updates?
4. Is it Secure?
5. Can we automatically import our own data such as client lists and product master files?
6. How much does it cost?
7. What kind of training and support is available?
8. Do we need any special skills to use the solution?
9. Our NAFTA certificate process is out of control, how will this help?
10. How do you get or assign the correct classification information in the first place?
11. What if we get audited, how can we prove compliance?
12. How do we share and maintain a compliant company-specific item file?

1. Do we have to buy software?   Top

No, the solution is an online subscription-based application. You will never have to load software or update the program on your computers.

2. What computer requirements are needed?   Top

The solution is Internet based, so you won't need to make any hardware upgrades. It is also compatible with all standard and many business application systems.

3. How do we receive updates?   Top

eCustoms regularly updates the trade content, delivering the most up-to-date processing possible. You do not have to download anything.

4. Is it Secure?   Top

Yes, your company's sensitive information is fully protected. You control what features and data your users can access. For the ultimate in security, you can even host the system on your own servers.

5. Can we automatically import our own data such as client lists and product master files?   Top

Yes, eCustoms will work with you to migrate your existing data. You can also import vendor spreadsheets or text files with a single click. You can also have the solution interface directly to your own ERP systems including SAP, Oracle, Legacy and so forth.

6. How much does it cost?    Top

To see just how cost effective the solution is, please contact your sales representative for evaluation and pricing.

7. What kind of training and support is available?    Top

The solution is so user friendly that any training beyond our initial orientation is generally not required, but is always available. With user-friendly architecture and features, virtually anyone with basic computer skills and a general knowledge of your company's NAFTA processes can quickly and easily learn to use the solution. Your eCustoms support team includes product support specialists, accredited trainers, export/import consultants, systems engineers, developers, communications experts and seasoned project managers. And of course, you always have access to your sales rep as well.

8. Do we need any special skills to use the solution?   Top

If your staff is comfortable working with Internet applications, they will work effectively and productively with the solution.

9. Our NAFTA certificate process is out of control, how will this help?   Top

The Visual Compliance NAFTA Solution will aid in keeping your NAFTA process smooth, automated, accurate and under control. It will also reduce workload, and errors.

10. How do you get or assign the correct classification information in the first place?   Top

The NAFTA Solution integrates with our Customs IQ Solution which uses the power of the Internet and state-of-the-art search technology to bring together everything you need to classify your goods with the appropriate Harmonized Code and find the most advantageous duty rate for each product.

11. What if we get audited, how can we prove compliance?   Top

A number of reports in the system let you quickly and accurately report on the product and certificate information. A rich set of documentation, "proof" and audit trails is built right in.

12. How do we share and maintain a compliant company-specific item file?    Top

The NAFTA Solution provides easy access to product classification, supporting documents, related vendors and NAFTA certificate status. Users can add, update or delete product information, NAFTA certifications and related data.