Incoterms: The Complications When Using Them with Letters of Credit
Written by: Jamilex Gotay, Senior Editorial Associate, NACM National Imagine you’re a buyer and you want to purchase a high-value shipment from a seller overseas. You don’t know each other well, so you bring in a letter of credit (LC)—your trusty financial bodyguard from a bank. The bodyguard promises the seller: “If you deliver everything […]
The Current Situation in the World of International Trade
Written by: Brenda Barnes, Export Manager, Geo. S. Bush & Co., Inc.Congestion at the seaports is in the news and has been for several months now. Most of what is seen on television are the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. Maybe that is the case because they seem to be in the […]
5 Risks You Need to Manage When Expanding Your Global Footprint
By: Jane Hay, Vice President, U.S. Bank Published: April 05, 2018 The global market is always changing, with new opportunities and challenges arising every day. Here are several of the major risk factors in international trade to consider. In the world of global trade, even the best-laid plans can go awry. I talk with clients […]
An Update on Credit Card Surcharging in Canada: The Provinces have Approved the Class Action Settlements
By: Scott Blakeley, Esq., Blakeley LLP Credit teams throughout the US continue to deal with the dramatic increase of customers in the B2B space using credit cards to pay invoices. But the dramatic increase in card use for B2B payments is not limited to domestic customers. Canada has seen a comparable jump in the number […]
What Does OFAC Stand For and Who Has to Comply?
By: Kathy Linscott, NACM Commercial Services OFAC stands for Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of Treasury. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation […]
Practicing Due Diligence When Complying With U.S. Export Regulations
In today’s business world, any company doing business internationally must have effective policies in place to comply with United States’ export laws and regulations. If at any time your company engages in trade with another country, it is important to understand the rules that govern such trade and have a compliance policy in place. The […]
Doing Business in the Middle East and Northern Africa
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is notorious for its instability, yet this should not automatically eliminate the consideration of doing business there. In fact, opportunities for growth exist in these markets, if you and your company go in prepared. Assessments Take time to gather and assess available information about the prospective customer(s) […]
Points to Consider When Doing Business in Brazil
Brazil’s rise as one of the two or three most prolific emerging economies in the world at the beginning of the decade is nothing short of impressive. However, within five years it faltered despite being positioned as host of the World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Brazil has always been a bit […]
Three More C’s: A Trio of Practices to Consider for International Business Dealings
Most credit professionals are well aware of NACM’s vaunted “Five C’s of Credit:” (character, capacity, capital, conditions, and collateral). These guiding tenants have long provided a base-level guide to drive credit professionals toward best practices in their daily business dealings. A group of veteran credit professionals, while attending NACM’s Graduate School of Credit and Financial […]
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S.: A Vital Resource for Community Banks
By David Josephson at Export-Import Bank of the U.S. Why should a small bank with a focus on its local customers and deposits care about including export finance in their offerings to customers? The answer is quite simple: more and more, their customers who are manufacturers or service providers are going global in order to […]