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We have worked with ICS for several years and their services have been invaluable. From fielding trade compliance questions to providing training on COO and BAA, helping our employees learn about these complex programs. They have integrated within in our data and are very quick to respond to keep an order moving smoothly through our system. Ruth has put a technical and knowledgeable team together that would be helpful to any company to keep them up to date on compliance issues.
—Michael R. Sekula, Vice President Global Supply Chain Management & Safety, Inpro
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I rely on and trust the Classification and Supplier Solicitation work that ICS does. Not only are they very knowledgeable in working with our products and helping our vendors, but their custom designed solicitation software system is excellent and is also very affordable, especially compared to other systems we have seen over the years.
—3rd party logistics (3PL) company, Southeastern US.
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We have been a customer of ICS, and have worked with Ruth’s team, since 2019. We started out with an import/export audit of our controls to ensure we are operating on a world-class level. We have also used ICS for classification on items that are outside of our expertise, such as license determination, tariffs/duties and valuation. Their team is highly competent, agile, and easy to do business with. We feel like they are an extension of our organization. I would highly recommend Ruth and her team to anyone looking for international trade compliance expertise.
—Dean Blanke, Director, Supply Chain, Johnsonville, LLC
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where can I find the statistics for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) audits and penalties? Read More
CBP’s website maintains a Newsroom that includes Stats and Summaries on many topics including Audits, Seizures, and Investigations. This can be found at: http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/trade. If you drill down on the menu, you can see many interesting CBP stats.
If we file Duty Drawback will Customs audit me? Why? Read More
Duty Drawback is a privilege provided to the trade community by Customs. They audit every first-time filer to verify that you can produce the information supporting your claims. You can also expect a random review in the future to provide assurances that you can support the claims and maintain the record-keeping requirements certified during the application process.
How does your automated Supplier Solicitation System really work? Is it better than how I do it in-house myself? Read More
Our Supplier Solicitation Program in ICSCompliance© is state of the art. It is easy to use with little training. You can solicit all your suppliers or a select few. Users can request information for specific parts to cover a rush request for a pending clearance. ICSCompliance© also stores the documents by part number allowing users to view at will. This is a glimpse of how the program helps our customers.
Compliance is complex and a burden on my employees. What are the first steps if I want to keep it simple? Read More
Consider having an Internal Review/Audit of your Trade Compliance Program by a Licensed Customs Broker. The auditor will provide you with a listing of successes and GAPS allowing you to conquer one issue at a time.
Why should I use a 3rd party to do Classifications if I already have someone in-house? Read More
Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification is complex and can have significant ramifications. Having an independent, qualified and experienced US Customs Broker* or trade attorney working with your team to review and/or classify your items can be very valuable. Our HTS reviews have a solid record of being upheld during Customs audits, and we have saved clients significant money in this way.
* Classifying goods for others is “customs business” and must be carried out by a licensed customs broker. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1641(b)(1), “[n]o person may conduct customs business (other than solely on behalf of that person) unless that person holds a valid customs broker’s license . . . .” .
Note: “ “Person” includes individuals, partnerships, associations, and corporations.”
I don’t understand how to deal with Free Trade Agreements. Why should I go through the hassle? My goods probably don’t qualify anyway. How does it help me to spend the time and money to find out? Read More
This is a common question. Free Trade Agreements reduce or eliminate the duties or your foreign customer. Free Trade Agreements can reflect significant savings and increase your market share.
I want to import something. How can I tell if the product is subject to Anti-Dumping or Countervailing Duties (ADD/CVD)? Read More
Those duties can be enormous (upwards in the neighborhood of 600% in some instances). It is not always a simple determination, as lists of Tariff Classifications that flag for ADD/CVD are provided by Customs “for convenience only” and are not the final determining factor. Many other items with Tariff Classifications that do not flag for ADD/CVD may still be subject to ADD/CVD.
Also, one cannot always rely on the “Country of Origin” as stated in marketing materials or on a Certificate of Origin to determine whether an item is subject to an ADD/CVD case. The Dept. of Commerce may apply a different analysis and determine that even though a Country of Origin is valid for Customs purposes, the item may still be subject to an ADD/CVD Case for a different country. The Department of Commerce has a broad latitude in determining what may out of scope for a case, and what may constitute “Circumvention” or “Evasion” due to minor processing.
The bottom line is that, more than ever, importers need to understand their supply chain and production processes from raw material to finished goods. Not only for ADD/CVD, but for other protective and retaliatory tariffs (i.e., 232’s and 301’s), forced labor, sanctions and more.
We regularly help our clients evaluate products for ADD/CVD and the impacts of these other duties and sanctions too.
How do I know my data that I send you is safe and confidential? How do you protect it? Read More
ICSCompliance© has an SSL Certificate installed. This ensures that any data transferred between users and ICSCompliance©, or between two systems, remains impossible to read.
I am a small/medium sized company. How can you help me without using up my whole budget? Read More
ICS can design a program to stay within a budget and still fit your needs.