REGULATION &
COMPLIANCE
PRESSURE POINTS
The heat is being turned up from all sides, notes Ian Putzger.
In June, FedEx took the US
government to court.
The integrator fi led
a lawsuit against the US
Commerce Department,
arguing that it should not be
required to enforce federal
government export bans.
Its submission stated that
the current regulations
“unreasonably hold common
carriers strictly liable for
shipments that may violate
the Export Administration
Regulations without requiring
evidence that the carriers had
knowledge of any violations.”
The move came after FedEx
had refused to ship a Huawei
mobile phone from Britain to
the US, which had raised the
ire of the Chinese authorities.
Logistics companies feel
under siege to take on more
responsibilities and liability.
Project forwarders have
reported a push from clients
to shoulder increased risk and
liability. A survey from a year
ago found that 39% of logistics
fi rms had been asked to pay
for container or trailer damage
– even though they had not
caused it.
Demands for compliance
are rising on all sides –
from authorities seeking
to enforce measures for
security or against illegal
traffi c and shippers’ demands
regarding liability issues or
service levels conforming to
certain standards, to carrier
requirements for security or
operational reasons.
“We hear from our members
that the regulatory burden is
not stopping. It continues to
be prevalent in what we’re
doing,” remarks Brandon Fried,
Executive Director of the US
Airforwarders Association.
Logistics fi rms spend more
and more time and resources
on compliance. Albert
Saphir, Principal of logistics
consultancy ABS Consulting,
estimates that the time spent
on it has risen from 10% of
overall time to more than
40%. Some consultants and
attorneys specialise entirely in
compliance, he adds.
“No question, it’s getting
more and more complicated,”
remarks Bob Imbriani,
Executive Vice President
International at forwarder
Team Worldwide. “Companies
have to have a focus on
compliance.”
More compliance ahead
In March, Reliance 360
issued its fi rst annual risk
One of the
biggest issues
is security
programmes
Bob Imbriani, Executive Vice President
International, Team Worldwide
14 October 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
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