Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and others offer companies breaks on
tariffs, if their products qualify for the program. It can be a headache to
determine if your products meet the standards, but software can make the
task much simpler. Why throw away free money?
Leave a Paper Trail ......................................................................................
An international shipment can create as many as 35 different documents
as an item travels to its destination. Saving and keeping track of these
documents may be a hassle, but it has become absolutely crucial. Because
companies can be held liable for shipping dangerous items to terrorists
or even for terrorists misusing their items for bad purposes, it’s important
to have a paper trail documenting the precautions you took to follow inter-
national trade regulations. In addition, accounting regulations enacted in the
wake of the Enron collapse mean companies must keep detailed financial
records of importing and exporting transactions. Audit trails are important
to keeping your company, not to mention the regulators, happy.
308 Part V: The Part of Tens
