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Companies of all sizes use them to speed shipments, reduce costs and simplify global operations. USCIB issues and guarantees Carnets in the United States with the help of a nationwide network of service providers.
Under a joint ATA Carnet Education Project, the two groups will work together to develop educational and training programs for smaller companies, with the goal of expanding use of the innovative “merchandise passports,” which are used to reduce costs and simplify the shipment of goods for trade shows, product demonstrations and other uses.
“Our goal is to create jobs by helping to get our exports growing again,” stated Cynthia Duncan, USCIB’s senior vice president for Carnet operations. “Trade is essential for our economy to prosper, and ATA Carnets can make it easier for smaller companies to make inroads into overseas markets.”
Under the terms of the agreement, information on ATA Carnets will be distributed by the Commerce Department’s U.S. Export Assistance Centers nationwide help identify new and potential exporters who could benefit from the department’s services and assistance. Both groups said the effort would help bring new-to-market and new-to-export firms more swiftly into the international marketplace.
Introduced in the United States 40 years ago, ATA Carnets are internationally recognized customs documents, accepted in 65 countries, that allow for temporary duty-free, tax-free import of commercial samples, professional equipment and goods displayed at trade shows. Companies of all sizes use them to speed shipments, reduce costs and simplify global operations. USCIB issues and guarantees Carnets in the United States with the help of a nationwide network of service providers.
“In the current economic climate, many companies are looking for opportunities overseas to diversify. International sales are important to firms’ long-term growth strategy, and exporting contributes to job creation here in the U.S.” said Rochelle J. Lipsitz, aActing Aassistant Ssecretary for Ttrade Ppromotion,
and dDirector Ggeneral of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service. “Our collaboration with USCIB will provide more opportunities for small- and medium-sized businesses to expand their overseas sales.”
Background
The U.S. Commercial Service, the trade promotion unit of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), has a network of offices in more than 100 U.S. cities and in American embassies and consulates in nearly 80 countries. Last year, the U.S. Commercial Service helped facilitate more than 12,000 export successes worth nearly $70 billion in sales, supporting jobs across the country.
Carnets were developed by the World Customs Organization in consultation with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization that USCIB represents in the United States. ICC and national customs authorities manage the day-to-day operations of the global ATA Carnet system (“ATA” is a combination of the French and English abbreviations for “temporary admission”). More information on ATA Carnets is available at www.merchandisepassport.org.
The U.S. Commercial Service, the trade promotion unit of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), has a network of offices in more than 100 U.S. cities and in American embassies and consulates in nearly 80 countries. Last year, the U.S. Commercial Service helped facilitate more than 12,000 export successes worth nearly $70 billion in sales, supporting jobs across the country.
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.
More information is available at www.uscib.org.
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Contacts:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
(212) 703-5043, jhuneke@uscib.org
Curt Cultice, U.S. Commercial Service
(202) 482-2253
More on the ATA Carnet Export Service
Commerce Department Export.gov website
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