1. Dominion Customs Consulting Inc.
FREE TRADE COMPLIANCE
Helping businesses increase their bottom line for over 30 years.
2. FREE TRADE COMPLIANCE
ARE YOU AT RISK?
Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) are a significant source of savings for
many businesses, however, most are unaware of the hidden risks
associated with these agreements.
Each FTA has its own unique set of provisions that are subject to change
over time. This creates the challenging task of consistently remaining
current with the legislation. If the government determines a company is
non-compliant, penalties will incur and this can potentially effect your
costs and profit margins.
In addition, once a company has been found non-compliant, history has
demonstrated that the government will perform future audits on your
records much more frequently.
• Have you had your Free Trade Agreement tested?
• Are you confident that your Free Trade Agreement Compliance Policies
& Procedures protect your business from non-compliance?
Don’t fall victim to risks. Protect your company and your profits.
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3. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
LET US HELP YOU
Dominion’s Free Trade Agreement Compliance Program (FTACP) has been developed into three main components to
ensure maximum compliance protection for our clients.
PRODUCT CERTIFICATE FTA
ANALYSIS MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES:
1) Identify and correct areas of risk and minimize non-compliance exposure
2) Review and analyze all applicable products imported, manufactured and exported to maximize duty savings under
all possible Free Trade Agreements
3) Development and maintenance of detailed audit trails and documentation to meet your commitments and legal
customs requirements
4) Provide the most accurate and validated FTA related content available to our clients
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5. FTACP: PRODUCT ANALYSIS
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS?
In the Product Analysis Stage, all products (manufactured, imported and/or exported) are reviewed and categorized into
one of the following groupings for further analysis:
WHY WE DO THIS
By having a clear understanding of each of your FTA related products , we can begin developing a specifically tailored
compliant program.
Identifying a catalog of your products can also lead to potential opportunities for duty reduction.
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7. FTACP: CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT
DO YOUR CERTIFICATIONS MEET GOVERNMENT STANDARDS?
The government considers FTA certificates as binding legal documents. As the issuer/
receiver of an FTA certificate, it is your responsibility to validate compliance through a
detailed audit trail.
Once a certificate becomes issued, a detailed audit of how each product was
determined to meet qualifications must be maintained. A company needs to be ready
to present this trail to customs upon request, along with all correspondence, supplier
solicitations, Bills of Materials, and other important supporting documents.
Product qualifications must be closely and consistently monitored to ensure the validity
of the certification hasn’t changed due to changing FTA rules or bills of material.
Failing to provide a comprehensive audit trail will not only be costly to your business
through non-compliance penalties, but will also impact your overall competitiveness in
your industry. Higher duty costs equate to higher prices for your customers and in turn,
reduces your bottom line.
Under the Certificate Management component of Dominion’s Free Trade Compliance
Program we verify qualifications and where necessary, build and maintain the Audit
Trails the government will require upon their request.
Manage your Certificates and use FTA to your company’s full advantage.
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9. FTACP: FTA OPTIMIZATION
ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS?
Taking advantage of multiple FTA’s can present numerous challenges.
Understanding the Bill of Materials, classifying finished products and their
components, and applying necessary rules and regulations are all items your
team will have to address. During this process, it is imperative that
communication between your company’s departments and the customs/logistics
group are strong.
When communication between departments becomes fragmented, this leads to
an increased risk of FTA non-compliance. For instance, It is common for
companies to change sourcing and costing components throughout the year and
fail to advise all necessary parties impacted by these changes within the
company. Poor communication can also mean you’re not taking full advantage of
your FTA’s.
Dominion’s FTA Optimization component focuses on the overall improvement of
your FTA management. By building and maintaining the necessary linkages in
communication for you, we create a compliance safety net that will protect your
FTA goods.
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10. WHY CHOOSE DOMINION?
MINIMIZE
your FTA non-compliance exposure
MAXIMIZE
your duty recovery
Dominion Group has been assisting companies with their Free Trade Agreement compliance since
the North American Free Trade Agreement was first introduced. We employ dedicated resources to
monitor all FTA legislation on a daily basis. That way, we can analyze changes, determine their
impact on our clients, and make the necessary adjustments promptly.
Dominion participates in a number of Trade Association and government committees to ensure we
are providing our clients with the most accurate and current customs intelligence available.
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11. NEXT STEPS
HOW TO GET STARTED
A proactive and comprehensive Free Trade Compliance program is a key factor to minimizing the risk of non-
compliance. Offering products at a competitive price to your clients is also critical to your success. Together, we can
determine your specific needs and develop a plan of action.
To discuss this opportunity in more detail, my contact information has been provided on the final slide of this
presentation.
Dominion’s team of professionals have been working extensively with companies across North America for over 30
years; and look forward to assisting you through your strategic Free Trade Compliance roadmap.
We welcome the opportunity to prove our value to you.
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12. CONTACT INFORMATION
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY
We thank you for the opportunity to present our proposal, and discuss our
expertise.
If you, or any member of your team have any questions, please feel free to
contact Dominion toll free at 1-888-888-3443.
Louis Baus, BA, C.C.S.,
Account Executive
Ext. 239
lbaus@dominiongroup.com
www.dominiongroup.com
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