Must-Read for Newbies in Foreign Trade: 8 Steps to Save You Millions in Tuition Fees

Ms. Li's ceramic workshop was still struggling with inventory backlog last year, but this year it has sold its products to Europe through cross-border e-commerce. What happened in between? Export trade may seem to have a high threshold, but in fact, you only need to master a standardized process. This article will dissect the 8 key steps of export trade. Whether you are a startup or a factory in transformation, you can find the golden key to break through the foreign trade dilemma.

Mr. Zhang's machinery parts factory once lost 300,000 yuan due to blind participation in exhibitions. Later, through customs code query, it was found that the demand for its products in Southeast Asia increased by 27%. Effective market research should include:

• Import tariffs and technical barriers of the target country (such as CE certification in the European Union)
• Pricing strategies and distribution channels of competing products
• Cultural taboos and consumption preferences (such as the rejection of six-pointed star packaging in the Middle East)

A clothing factory had its containers detained due to the lack of certificate of origin, incurring a demurrage fee of $2,000 per day. The necessary qualifications include:

• Import and export rights (electronic port card + foreign exchange account)
• Product testing reports (such as FDA filing required for food)
• Confirmation of trade terms (differences in risk division between FOB and CIF)

Ms. Wang avoided the risk of default by a South American customer through sight letter of credit, while her peers who adopted DP payment lost 800,000 yuan. Key points to note:

• Priority of payment methods: LC > TT > DP > OA
• Quality dispute clauses (designation of third-party inspection agencies)
• Scope of force majeure (including situations such as port strikes)

During the peak season of sea transportation, the freight of a 40HQ container can soar from $2,000 to $10,000. Optimization strategies include:

• Calculation of the cost break-even point between LCL and FCL
• Use of freight forwarder price comparison tools (pay attention to hidden charges)
• Recommendation on purchasing ETA delay insurance

One letter mistake on the bill of lading may lead to customs clearance failure. Core document list:

• Commercial invoice (HS code should be reflected)
• Packing list (gross and net weights must be accurate to the gram)
• Preferential certificate of origin such as FORM E (saving 5 - 30% of tariffs)

Was the handling of Iranian payment through offshore account frozen? The compliant path should be chosen as follows:

• Application for cross-border RMB settlement pilot enterprises
• Recommendation on the proportion of export credit insurance
• Declaration time limit of the foreign exchange monitoring system (within 30 days after shipment)

Data in 2023 shows that about 23% of small and medium-sized enterprises gave up tax rebates due to incomplete documents. Key steps:

• Three-way matching of 'product name, quantity, and amount' on the value-added tax invoice
• Remedy plan for the loss of the tax rebate copy of the customs declaration form
• Skills for upgrading the classification management level (shortening the review cycle)

A tool merchant obtained 17 new orders referred by customers through after-sales follow-up on WhatsApp. Recommended operations:

• Quality tracking form (including data recording of the usage environment)
• Standard operating procedure for claim handling (48-hour response mechanism)
• Customer classification and maintenance strategy (quarterly visits to key customers)

Now open your computer and complete three things: 1) Query the tax rebate rate of the HS code of your product 2) Contact 3 freight forwarders for price comparison 3) Download the latest version of INCOTERMS2020. Welcome to share your practical difficulties in foreign trade in the comment section. We will select 10 questions and have them answered free of charge by the foreign trade expert team of Zhongshitong.