Powering Performance

With the recent passage of “phase one” of a trade agreement between the United States and China and the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), 2020 was supposed to be a transitional year for the global auto industry. Analysts had expectations that sales in the sector had bottomed out and that growth in China would support the world market, reversing recent negative sales trends and getting back to a trajectory of growth. But the worldwide spread of the coronavirus disease has become one of the greatest tests to the complex global supply chains created by auto manufacturers over the past 30 years and could lead to another downturn in global sales.

Creative problem solving is usually a good a thing, but when it comes to customs compliance, overlooking even one little detail can turn those great new solutions into great big problems.

At least one insurance company will cover the costs from a cyberattack against one of its clients.

A recent CEO survey by Gartner¹ cited “lack of appropriate talent and capability” as the top most inhibitor to a company’s digital progress. Supply chain organizations are no exception. The gap between the skills needed to compete in an increasingly digital world and those available in the organization is widening. Rise in robotics, algorithmic intelligence, and cloud computing is making an entire generation of supply chain professionals increasingly obsolete. These technologies are hollowing out the middle of the jobs’ spectrum, pushing the humans to the edges requiring extreme physical or cognitive dexterity.

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Cyber criminals have threatened to raid the bank accounts of customers and employees of German automotive group Gedia, following a major cyber attack on the company’s headquarters last week. [Editor's note: Original posting date of this article was January 24, 2020.]

In an era marked by uncertainty and rapid trade policy changes, there is an opportunity for companies to position themselves for long-term viability and success.

“We are in uncharted territory,” said Edward Dougherty, global GTM senior risk and compliance manager, for Livingston International Inc. “For those of us with grey in our hair, this is the most uncertain and fastest-changing period we’ve ever seen. Gone are the days when we had time to digest the Federal Register and figure out how to proceed, because your CFO has seen the President’s tweets and wants to know how you’re going to fix things right now.”

NAFTA 2.0 or the USMCA

Since President Trump took office in January of 2017, he has shown his desire to follow through with trade policies that were a central part of his campaign. After the President officially withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”), he immediately focused on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”).

We’ve all read the headlines of cyberattacks on big businesses and government entities—hackers swiping millions of credit card details, Social Security numbers and other personal information. But have you thought about what the consequences a cyberattack against your small business could be?

According to Dawn Olesky, senior manager of trade and customs at KPMG LLP, we’re seeing the most significant changes to Duty Drawback since its inception in 1789.