International Trade Data System – President’s Order

Just recently in his State of the Union address, President Obama mentioned that the year 2014 he will take steps to help out America’s middle class.  On February 19, 2014, he signed an Executive Order integrating a new electronic system that “speeds up the shipment of American-made goods overseas, eliminating duplicate and burdensome paperwork, and makes our government more efficient.”

The Executive Order will cut processing and approval times from days to minutes for small businesses that export American –made goods and services.  How?  The mandate is to complete the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by December 2016. The ITDS will allow businesses to electronically transmit their required data, which is currently done through tedious paperwork and extensive waiting time.  As mentioned before, the goal is to make the international shipping process for American companies as efficient and cost effective as possible.  According to the White House, each year American businesses “move more than 50 million containers and $3.8 trillion worth of goods.”

This mandate also allows for better relationship-building between international freight forwarders and U.S. Customs brokers like Scarbrough International, Ltd. and U.S. Government agencies, which improves coordination and reduces supply chain inefficiencies all around.

For more information, please visit the White House or email info@scarbrough-intl.com