INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
International Trade Law Articles
Customs classification, export controls, sanctions, and the compliance work that keeps cross-border business moving.
426 articles
Anti-Dumping vs. Countervailing Duties: The Difference
Anti-dumping duties offset imports sold below fair value; countervailing duties offset imports that benefit from foreign government subsidies. Both are …
Antidumping & Countervailing Duties: A Guide
Antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duties are extra import duties the United States imposes to offset two specific unfair trade practices — selling goods …
Antidumping & Countervailing Duty Compliance
Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) are extra import duties — frequently far larger than ordinary tariffs — that apply to specific products from …
Arbitration in International Trade: A Guide
Arbitration is the default way to resolve cross-border commercial disputes because of one practical advantage no national court can match: an arbitral award is …
Balance of Trade vs. Balance of Payments
The balance of trade measures only the gap between what a country exports and imports; the balance of payments records every economic transaction a country has …
Bilateral vs. Multilateral Trade Agreements
A bilateral trade agreement is between two countries; a multilateral trade agreement is among many. That single difference — the number of parties — drives …
Binding vs. Non-Binding Tariff Information Explained
Binding tariff information is a written classification decision that customs is legally required to honor; non-binding information is everything else — guidance …
Build an Import Compliance Training Program
An import compliance training program teaches the people who touch your imports — purchasing, logistics, finance, and anyone who signs or files entries — the …
C-TPAT Cheatsheet: Supply Chain Security Basics
C-TPAT is a voluntary U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program in which companies harden their supply chains against terrorism and smuggling in exchange …
Classifying Agricultural Products for Export
Agricultural products are classified in Schedule B Chapters 1–24, but the commodity code is only half the job — most agricultural exports also need an export …
Classifying Agricultural Products for Import
Agricultural products are classified in Chapters 1–24 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, but the tariff code is only half the job — most agricultural imports …
Classifying Automotive Parts for Import (HTS)
Classifying automotive parts for import is harder than it looks, because “it’s a car part” doesn’t automatically put it under the …
Classifying Chemicals & Hazmat for Export
A chemical export carries three overlapping classifications at once: its Schedule B commodity code, its export-control status (often an ECCN tied to the …
Classifying Chemicals and Hazardous Materials
Chemicals are classified mainly in Chapters 28–38 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, but importing them triggers a separate layer of EPA, DOT, and OSHA rules …
Classifying Defense Articles for Export
Classifying a military or defense-related item for export starts with one question above all others: jurisdiction. Is the item a defense article on the U.S. …
Classifying Medical Devices for Export
Classifying a medical device for export runs on three separate tracks: its Schedule B commodity code, its FDA export pathway, and its export-control status …
Classifying Software & Technology Exports Under the EAR
Software and technology are classified for export the same way physical goods are — against the Commerce Control List — but they sit in their own product groups …
Classifying Software and Technology Imports
Software and technology imports get unusual customs treatment, and the single most important rule is this: software transmitted electronically is not subject to …
Common Market vs. Customs Union: What's the Difference?
A customs union eliminates tariffs between its member countries and applies a single common external tariff to everyone else. A common market does both of those …
Countervailing Duties: How CVD Cases Work
A countervailing duty is an extra import tariff the United States imposes to cancel out a subsidy a foreign government gave to the goods you are importing. It …
