Organizations across all industries—from automotive, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals to transportation, electronics, and oil and gas—have felt the disruptive effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Turning the global supply chain on its head, COVID-19’s impact has cut across multiple facets of international trade, including manufacturing, import/export, logistics, compliance, and supply chain management. This disruption has been a wake-up call for organizations worldwide, prompting them to assess their readiness to respond reliably, expediently, and effectively to rapidly evolving risk factors going forward.
Disruption Is Inevitable
Whether driven by an unprecedented pandemic or events that are more familiar, like trade wars or frequent duty and tariff changes, future disruptions to the flow of goods are unavoidable and companies must be as prepared as possible. Case in point: on June 29, the amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) came into force, impacting U.S. companies that export goods, software, and technology to China, Russia, and Venezuela.
A few days later on July 1, a new free trade agreement entered into force as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While the USMCA is designed to provide “significant improvements and modernized approaches to rules of origin, agricultural market access, intellectual property, digital trade, financial services, labor, and numerous other sectors,” companies must respond efficiently to changes in import duties, tariffs, and rules of origin verification procedures in order to avoid compliance issues.
The current government’s uncertain trade relations with China, BREXIT’s unfolding impact on U.K. trade, and evolving pandemic predictions are just a handful of factors that may unsettle global supply chains going forward. With disruption an unavoidable consequence of doing business in 2020, successful companies are securing their supply chains by prioritizing operational responsiveness, agility, and adaptability in order to keep goods flowing while avoiding compliance violations and penalties.
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