Webinar on The Impact on Exporters of Foreign Assets Control, Anti-Boycott, and Anti-Money Laundering Regulations

Overview: 

U.S. exporters are not only required to understand complex licensing requirements regarding the goods they sell, they must adhere to U.S. sanctions against "enemy" countries (foreign assets control regulations) and refuse to comply with sanctions imposed by other countries (anti-boycott regulations).

These two sets of regulations are partially policed by U.S. banks when handling shipping documents and payments and, if a violation is detected, payments must be frozen and the bank must report the exporter to the authorities. Fines, loss of tax credits, and even jail terms may be imposed. On top of all that, the USA PATRIOT Act requires banks to refuse to even handle transactions that may be completely legitimate but which involve parties they haven’t done background checks on and to report transactions viewed by the government as "suspicious," with the idea of catching money launderers.

This session educates participants on the regulations governing the actions of banks when handling international payments and explores what banks are required to do and not to do, with a particular focus on the impact on the exporter and their payment for goods. 

Why should you Attend:

• Understand the difference between international rules, domestic laws & regulations, and international conventions and when they apply
• Learn under what circumstances payment from a foreign buyer could get frozen by the U.S. government and deemed "trading with the enemy"
• Understand what makes a transaction reportable or prohibited under the anti-boycott regulations
• Review how the USA PATRIOT Act applies to trade transactions and information banks actually need in order to satisfy "Know-Your-Customer" requirements

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Sanctions against "enemy" countries (e.g., the Office of Foreign Assets Control and U.N. sanctions)
• Antiboycott regulations
• Anti-Money Laundering regulations (e.g., the USA PATRIOT Act)

Who Will Benefit:

• Attorneys
• Credit and collection managers
• Presidents
• Vice presidents
• Business owners
• Managers

Speaker Profile:

Walter (Buddy) Baker brings more than 30 years of experience in international trade finance to his current position as Vice President and head of Global Trade Solutions Delivery for Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third is one of the 20 largest banks in the US and provides a full range of risk mitigation and financing products for exporters and importers. Mr. Baker’s professional experience includes earlier stints with Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, ABN AMRO Bank, Bank of America, Wachovia Bank, and The First National Bank of Chicago. 

Mr. Baker is a recognized expert in trade finance and author of numerous magazine articles and the books Users’ Handbook to Documentary Credits under UCP600, Documentary Payments & Short-Term Trade Finance, and The Regulatory Environment of Letters of Credit and Trade Finance. He owns the consulting firm Global Trade Risk Management Strategies, which specializes in educational training, and makes frequent presentations for national associations of exporters, importers, bankers, and lawyers. As a member of the National Letter of Credit Committee of the International Financial Services Association, the Advisory Council of the Institute for International Banking Law and Practice, and the Council for International Standby Practices, Mr. Baker is actively involved in establishing national and worldwide standard practices for LCs. He participated in the most recent revision of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (referred to as “UCP600”), contributed to the creation of the official ICC guide for examining letter of credit documents, called the International Standard Banking Practices for the Examination of Documents under Documentary Credits, and served on the drafting committees for the International Standby Practices (“ISP98”) and Article 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Association of International Credit and Trade Finance Professionals (“ICTF”), a multinational association of export credit managers.