INDUSTRY GROUP SAYS PROPOSED EXPORTER DEFINITION NEEDS MORE WORK

INDUSTRY GROUP SAYS PROPOSED EXPORTER DEFINITION NEEDS MORE WORK    The Joint Industry Group said the U.S. government’s proposed definition of exporter may still need more work.
   The new exporter definitions are being developed by the Commerce    Department’s Census Bureau and Export Administration, and could be published jointly by the agencies this spring.
'    The Washington-based industry group, which represents numerous exporters, believes these proposals may impose a heavy burden on the industry, especially in respect to “ex-works” transactions. The agencies’ exporter definitions would make the manufacturer or seller in ex-works transactions the “exporter” on the shipper’s export declaration.
   The Joint Industry Group’s Export Process Committee is considering an “11th-hour appeal” to the Office of Management and Budget.
   The committee plans to finish collecting industry comments this week regarding the cost to reprogram systems to accommodate the new exporter definition; costs to retrain staff and to provide new data to freight forwarders; legal resources; and expanded record keeping responsibilities.