The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows importing companies to reduce duty exposure for products that are sourced in the US, Mexico, and Canada as long as those goods qualify. This duty reduction comes at a price. In order to obtain continued lower duty costs under NAFTA, companies must collect, maintain, and renew certificates of origin for their qualifying goods, via a complex, time-consuming and paper-intensive solicitation process.

The primary means for duty savings under NAFTA is to have a valid certificate of origin available at time of importation. The traditional solicitation process is often manual and takes a long period of time to recover document. Because of this, most NAFTA programs generally involve a combination of certificate solicitations and post-entry reclaims in order to maximize savings under NAFTA.

Traditionally, solicitation and response management is slow and manual, relying on redundant effort and heavily dependent on paper. Because of the complexity of the program as well as changes to manufacturing processes, certificates may contain additional errors or NAFTA eligibility may change which thus invalidates the certificate. When certificates arrive and errors are detected, suppliers must be notified and corrective actions taken before being able to take advantage of the certificate.

There is also additional human interaction in rekeying supplier certificates into a system for validation and use in entry processing adding additional delay in obtaining the benefits of the certificate. These factors result in a longer response cycle time. While this seems less expensive on the front end, many products enter without proper documentation resulting in a reclaim (rework) process that adds additional cost to the program as well as the cost of capital in not having those funds available for company use.

Tradewin^® had developed a proprietary, web-based information system, NAFTANavigator™, to manage this arduous NAFTA solicitation process. Through this proprietary information system, we can manage the annual solicitation and follow-up process using electronic data supplied by the importer. NAFTANavigator™ cuts much of the time and redundant effort out of the solicitation and response process. We accomplish this by providing a web interface that validates entry based on client-specific business rules. Our screens look for glaring omissions and errors to prevent entry and usage of erroneous or invalid certificates at time of creation. These factors drive a shortened cycle time. Getting more certificates quickly results in more NAFTA savings up front and fewer reclaims after duty-paid entry. A more thorough NAFTA solicitation process is less expensive and complicated than reclaims and minimizes capital outlays for duties. ;NAFTANavigator™ provides for faster collection of information resulting in lower overall costs.

Through NAFTANavigator™, Tradewin^® manages importer and exporter data and notifies parties when changes occur to ensure the highest level of compliance with Customs laws and regulations. Tradewin^® experts also offer their expertise through periodic audits and on-line help to drive quality up front with the goal of minimizing rework and maximizing compliant NAFTA duty reductions at time of entry. Because of our more automated processes, we can focus on the value-added components of validation and verification, and ensure maximum NAFTA savings and ensure complete compliance with the law.  Duty avoidance through NAFTANavigator™ results in less rework, better data, and higher net recoveries and savings.

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