Zepol has partnered with World Trade 100 to launch its latest report on the free trade agreements between the United States and South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. In this report, you’ll discover how other professionals feel about the FTAs, what the current trade trends are with those countries, and if the FTAs have made an immediate impact on commerce.

Click Here To Download the Report Free

The report, dubbed Breaking Barriers with Free Trade Agreements, features a survey of 275 trade professionals, expert commentary from Perry Trunick, Editor in Chief at World Trade 100, and import/export statistics from Zepol.

Key Findings from Breaking Barriers

• The most popular FTA is with South Korea. 31% of survey respondents say their company will use the agreements in some way.
• Colombia’s FTA will most likely have a high impact on fuel trade. 75% of the products imported to the United States from Colombia are mineral fuels.
• The United States exports nine times more to Panama than it imports. In 2011, exports went up 36% from 2010.

Fair trade coffee imports into the United States have not only increased astronomically in the last decade, but Zepol’s data shows that this trend is still rising. Quarter two of 2012 reached a record-high for fair trade coffee imports (by vessel), surpassing Quarter two of 2011 by just two shipments. The graph below illustrates the rising trend.



The majority of fair trade coffee imports to the United States originate in Central and South America, however growing numbers are originating in Africa and Asia. The largest supplier of fair trade coffee to the United States for 2012 is Mexico, followed by Nicaragua and Colombia. Most recently, imports from Djibouti have seen positive growth. The chart below shows the top suppliers of fair trade coffee to the U.S. so far for 2012. Zepol’s TradeIQ™ data shows that companies like Volcafe Specialty Coffee and Royal Coffee have increased imports of fair trade coffee recently.
Is fair trade coffee energizing YOU yet? 

A Tariff directly relates to the harmonized tariff system codes (HTS) which imported/exported products are classified under. HTS codes let U.S. Customs know what tariff rate should be charged to specific products; this mainly applies to imports over exports.

Let’s say I’m an importer of “knotted carpets and textile floor coverings.” I classify my product under the HTS code 5701.10.9000, and the corresponding U.S. tariff would be the taxed percentage, which in this case is 4.5%.

A Duty is the actual amount of money paid on the imported/exported product. Although, the actual tax reference is the same thing, the import duty paid on “knotted carpets and textile floor coverings” depends on the quantity imported.

For example, if I imported $200,000 worth of the product to the United States last month, my duties would then be $9,000.

Most professionals use the terms interchangeably, which is correct, but in certain cases one is more appropriate than the other.

Zepol is thrilled to announce the addition of emailed reporting to our newest trade data tool, ComplianceIQ™. Users are able to search across multiple import-compliance data sets within one interface, saving the time of digging for critical compliance data.

ComplianceIQ™ users can now schedule emailed reports for any saved search, and receive alerts when new information is available for binding rulings, antidumping or countervailing investigations, tariffs, and more. Emailed reports can also be scheduled for specific time periods, demonstrating due diligence and reducing the risk of steep government penalties.

To see how users can easily schedule reports, please view the video below:


If you have any questions regarding this enhancement, please contact us.