Customs Regulations

In the years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, perhaps no government agency has evolved as much as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. From port initiatives such as the Container Security Initiative to partnering with industry in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, CBP is now front-and-center on virtually every international company's radar screen. Failure to comply with CBT's myriad and seemingly ever-evolving regulations can cost a company millions of dollars in fines. Overseas, customs agencies can be even more of a bureaucratic minefield and corruption is rampant in many emerging markets. In an increasingly global marketplace, how companies cope with myriad customs regulations can spell the difference between success and failure in an international strategy.