Trade Compliance

What Is Trade Compliance?

Trade compliance is the practice of ensuring that a company's import and export activities follow all applicable laws and regulations, including customs rules, export controls, sanctions, and product-specific requirements.

How Does Trade Compliance Work?

Companies establish internal processes to classify products correctly (HS codes), screen transactions against restricted and sanctioned party lists, obtain required licenses for controlled goods, and maintain accurate records to support customs declarations, often supported by dedicated compliance software or trade compliance teams.

Key Areas of Trade Compliance

• Correct HS code classification
• Restricted/denied party screening
• Export license requirements for controlled goods
• Country of origin determination and marking
• Accurate customs valuation and documentation

Why Trade Compliance Matters

Trade compliance violations, even unintentional ones, can result in significant fines, shipment seizures, and loss of import/export privileges. As tariff and trade policy has become more complex and frequently changing, maintaining robust trade compliance processes has become increasingly important for companies with meaningful cross-border trade exposure.