Trade Compliance Services

Cura Resource Group

Our trade compliance services keep you inside both sets of US rules for cross-border trade: export compliance rules on what you may ship out and to whom, and import compliance rules on what you owe on the goods you bring in.

Cura Resource Group runs both for importers and exporters, from the license check before a shipment leaves to the audit file years later.

This page covers the export side and the program that holds it together. For the import entry itself, see our customs compliance services.

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What does trade compliance actually do?

It keeps each shipment legal before it moves, and it leaves proof that it was. In practice, every order raises four questions. May this product leave the US? May this buyer receive it? What do we have to declare? Can we show our work later?

A wrong answer to any of them can stop a shipment at the port. It can also cost money long after the goods have gone.

Before an export leaves the US

Most of the export work happens before anyone books a truck.

Does your product need an export license?

We check each product against the Commerce Control List and give it an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN). Most commercial goods fall outside the list’s controls, but the answer can change with the destination, the buyer and the end use.

When a shipment needs a license, we prepare the application to the Bureau of Industry and Security. For sanctioned destinations, the application goes to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Goods wait until the license arrives.

Who can you sell to?

We screen your buyers, their addresses and anyone else in the deal against the US government’s restricted-party lists. The Consolidated Screening List pulls together the export screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury. We run every new party through it.

Some warning signs matter as much as a list match:

A buyer who will not say what the product is for, or who will use it.
A delivery address that is a freight forwarder or a home, or sits in a country unrelated to the buyer’s business.
Payment terms that look too generous, or cash for a large order.
A routing that makes no commercial sense, or a request to reroute after the order.

One of these is a question. Several together mean we stop and check before the goods leave.

Filing the export data

We file the Electronic Export Information (EEI) for your shipments through the Automated Export System. Federal rules waive the filing when a product line on one shipment is worth $2,500 or less. The waiver does not apply if the shipment needs a license (15 CFR § 30.37).

We check the exemption line by line, so you neither skip a required filing nor pay for one you never needed.

When tariffs change

New tariffs arrive faster than most importers can read them. When one lands, we tell you which of your products it touches and what it means for your shipments.

We then put a number on it. Our tariff impact analysis runs your product list through the new rates and shows the extra duty per product. You can then decide on prices, suppliers or timing with real figures. You can check a single rate yourself with our global tariff lookup.

Keeping the program running

A global trade compliance program works only if your own team follows it on a busy day. We write the procedures for your business and train the people who ship, buy and sell. The rules then live in the warehouse and the sales team, not in one person’s head.

Export records have a long life. Federal rules require you to keep them for five years from the export (15 CFR § 762.6). We keep yours in order, and when an auditor from Customs or the Commerce Department calls, we work through the requests with you.

Who is responsible for trade compliance?

Your company is. A forwarder, a broker or a 3PL like us can do the work, but the legal duty stays with you as the exporter or importer. On the import side, federal law requires the importer of record to file “using reasonable care” (19 U.S.C. § 1484).

That is why we report back on every check we run. You see what we classified, whom we screened and what we filed.

Trade compliance or customs compliance?

Customs compliance covers the import entry: the tariff code, the value, the duty and the clearance. Trade compliance wraps around it, adding export controls, licenses, screening and the program that ties them together. If you import, you need our customs compliance services as well, and one team handles both.

Trade compliance FAQ

What does a trade compliance service cost?

We quote after we see your products, your destinations and how often you ship. A one-off license check or a short consulting review costs far less than a full program with screening, filings and training, so the price follows the work.

Do I need a license to export my products?

Most commercial goods leave the US without one. The answer depends on the product’s classification, the destination, the buyer and the end use. We check all four before the first shipment and apply for a license when the shipment needs one.

When do I have to file Electronic Export Information?

Usually when a product line on a shipment is worth more than $2,500, and always when the shipment needs a license (15 CFR § 30.37). The filing goes through the Automated Export System before the goods leave.

How long do I need to keep export records?

Five years from the export (15 CFR § 762.6). Import entry records have their own five-year rule, which our customs compliance team covers.

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