WTCBN serves as a vital
training resource for companies seeking to broaden the skills of management
and employees. Utilizing our network of global business and industry
experts, WTCBN offers valuable opportunities to learn, discuss, and engage
on critical issues and methods relevant to global business.
As part of our ongoing education efforts, WTCBN helps
keep you up to date on critical issues in international trade. WTCBN engages
its partners to share their expertise, knowledge, and skills to help
companies in our binational region remain competitive.
As China’s economy grows
the pool of skilled laborers (especially coveted employees with
English and 4-year degree) are in demand. As a result, salaries and
benefits are increasing fast. Employees are increasingly moving from
firm to firm to obtain higher wages leaving foreign companies with
worker shortages, high training costs, and 20% turnover rates.
The question of when title to goods is transferred from the seller
to the buyer frequently causes significant confusion among parties
to a sales transaction. More importantly, the failure to provide for
the transfer of title at the proper time can lead to unexpected
results and, in some cases, expensive additional costs. This article
provides a concise summary of how the transfer of title is handled
under the INCOTERMS 2000, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and the
United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods (CISG) and explains why it is necessary for parties to a
transaction to properly structure the provisions dealing with the
transfer of title.
When entering into an agreement to sell
products to a company in another country, it is important that both
parties have a common understanding of each party’s costs, risks and
obligations on the delivery of the goods. The International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has devised, published and copyrighted the
widely accepted Incoterms (International Commercial Terms). The most
recent version is referred to as Incoterms 2000. There are 13
Incoterms in all.
For U.S. companies seeking business partners in Canada, a
well-written agreement should be mandatory. Of course, any
agreement should have clearly written terms to avoid disputes over
rights and obligations and the threat of costly and protracted
litigation. Cross-border agreements, such as those for a
commercial agent, distributorship, or a supply contract, require
more than “boilerplate” language; yet many companies on both sides
of the border rely upon such provisions. Doing so may overlook
key provisions of the agreement and lead to uncertainty, increase
business disruption and increase costs should a dispute arise.
This paper will briefly discuss 2 important aspects of a
cross-border agreement that U.S. and Canadian companies can
consider.
Businesses are utilizing Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ’s) to better
manage their global supply chain costs. Increasingly, many companies
are looking at FTZ’s as a competitive alternative to a domestic
distribution center. In addition to the advantages of duty-deferral
and duty avoidance on their imports, they have the ability to
perform kitting and distribution operations within the FTZ without
paying duty on the labor. Location to key markets in North America
within a days’ drive is a prime consideration to the selection of
your FTZ.
In today’s global economy, United States
companies increasingly conduct more of their business abroad. As a
result, some 80 percent of all companies – both large and small –
are exposed to foreign exchange risk, and the use of financial tools
to mitigate this risk is becoming increasingly central to companies’
business strategies. Such tools once were simply a method of making
international transactions more convenient, but today they are
necessary for companies to remain competitive. For this reason,
businesses must understand foreign exchange exposure as well as the
available tools to help manage the risks.
The Logistics Council works to improve the
logistics industry in the Buffalo Niagara Region. One of its
priorities is to promote Buffalo Niagara as a logistics hub for
truck, rail and air freight. The Logistics Council met on April 9,
2007 at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. The meeting covered a
variety of topics related to the industry and related issues for
this binational region.
Buffalo Niagara offers the most cost effective
location in North America to add value, warehouse, and distribute
products to markets in the Northeast United States and Eastern
Canada. Watch the seven minute video to see why.
"The U.S. Treasury has issued regulations on
inter-company services, which limit taxpayers’ ability to allocate
the cost of services among related parties. This issue of Transfer
Pricing News Bulletin is intended to help you understand and comply
with these new regulations."
“In recent years, Internet sites have
diversified into Web pages devoted to everything from keeping family
members or classmates in touch with each other to the major
commercial conduits every large corporation maintains..”
