Trade Terms Tuesday

Welcome to Trade Terms Tuesday! Each Tuesday we will share three trade-related terms. In order to reach out to our diverse readership, we will try to provide one for exports, one for imports and one for logistics/transportation. This week, we continue with the E’s.

Export
An export is defined as any item that is sent from the United States to a foreign destination. “Items” include commodities, software or technology, clothing, building materials, circuit boards, automotive parts, blue prints, design plans, retail software packages, and technical information. Items can be sent by regular mail or hand-carried on an airplane. Items may be sent via facsimile to a foreign destination, software can be uploaded to, or downloaded from, an Internet site, or technology can be transmitted via e-mail or during a telephone conversation. Regardless of the method used for the transfer, the transaction is considered an export for export control purposes.

Explanatory Notes
Issued by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Explanatory Notes provide detailed information, chapter-by-chapter; heading-by-heading, of what is included in and excluded from various sections, chapters, and headings in the HTSUS. Explanatory Notes are not part of the legal system; however, they do represent the views of classification experts.

Express Courier
An express carrier Transportation carrier, usually an airline, offers expedited delivery of small packages and documents and provides CBP clearance through the use of hubs, onsite CBP officials, and special entry processes.