As a country that will import approximately 95% of all articles consumed in 2010, the sheer breadth of the U.S. importing/ exporting business means that companies of all sizes regularly interact with the complex world of integrated logistics services. The role of freight forwarders and carriers, the “agents” for the exporter, has become more central. At the same time, there has been a dramatic increase in the number and severity of U.S. export controls and anti-bribery enforcement actions against logistics providers at all levels of the supply chain. Dealing with this reality must be both strategic and tactical. These multiagency investigations clearly illustrate that logistics providers, like U.S. exporters, are expected to have effective up-to-date export compliance and anti-bribery compliance programs. Logistics providers have become a target and are seen as a last line of defense for the prevention of dangerous diversion of goods and threats to homeland security.
Global Trade and Customs Journal