Trade wars, real wars, Brexit dislocations, and a pandemic have created strong imperatives for companies to re-engineer their supply chains. An April 2020 survey found that 83% of multinational executives were contemplating so-called “reshoring” or “nearshoring”....
In our blog posts and seminars, I caution traders against doing business with the ‘wrong’ country. The United States maintains several embargoes or trade sanctions programs. An embargo or sanction program is a total or partial prohibition against trading...
Food labels are not just pretty images designed to attract our attention or to tell us as consumers whether we are buying salt and not sugar. Labelling requirements apply to all producers, including international traders whose labels must also comply with country of...
May is World Trade Month in the United States and events are being held across the country to recognize the importance of exporting to jobs and our economy. To learn more about World Trade Month events and news follow the International Trade Administration on...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unleashed against it a barrage of punitive trade measures by Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. Russia has hit back with its export bans (and perhaps also to secure needed goods for war). So, is...
With the approach of U.S. Tax Day, we devote this post to discussing the true costs of doing business internationally. Particularly for traders in goods, these costs must be factored into business operations to protect the bottom line. Tariffs: Just about every...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hits home personally. Images of disrupted lives desperately seeking sanctuary knock the ground out from under our feet. They remind us of how quickly the circumstances of our lives can change – whether from natural causes or man-made...
If you had trouble finding the roses or chocolates for your Valentine’s Day shoppers this year – blame the continuing supply chain disruptions. These disruptions that we first saw in 2019 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic continue, unabated and even exacerbated...
What is Trade Facilitation? The past two traumatic years of the pandemic have reminded us of just how trade-dependent our economies are for daily essentials and the luxuries that improve the quality of our lives. Closed borders to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus...
Just as we did last year, our discussion of the trade landscape in 2022 will take a look at Brexit and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). How are they doing? Before getting to that, however, we must acknowledge the trade-related aspects of the double...
Conclusion of the negotiation on services domestic regulation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 2nd (2021) shows that, despite the postponement of the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) work on advancing its agenda continues. But can the WTO MC12...
With the approach of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in two weeks, conversations and actions aimed at shaping the agenda of WTO MC12 are underway. Originally scheduled for June of 2020 in Kazakhstan, this 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12)...
As if the pandemic and its fallout on global trade were not enough, UK businesses and consumers are also dealing with their special brand of Brexit-related headaches. The reappearance of borders – absent when the UK was a member of the European Union (EU) – has...
The supply chain disruptions that we first saw in 2020 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic continue, unabated and even exacerbated by labor shortages and shipping delays. In just one incident, the positive Covid test result of a ship’s crew member upon arrival in...
“Why Haiti?” The question on the minds and lips of anyone following this country’s trajectory – why is Haiti suffering so? Since wrestling its independence from France in 1804, the country has veered between political dictatorship and political upheaval. Over 50% of...
