Business ethics, also known as the corporate ethics can be defined as the applied integrities or professional principles that are observes ethical ideologies and molarities as well as ethical problems that arise within the business environment. Worth noting is the fact that they applies to all aspects of business conduct and they are relevant to the conduct of not only the individuals, but also the entire organization as well as the countries doing business together (Glick, 2008). While government applies laws and regulations to indicate business comportment in the areas they recognize beneficial to them, the ethics indirectly standardizes the details such areas for they are beyond the governmental control. The emergence of large corporations in the United States as well as its neighbor Canada has augmented the development of formal ethics establishment for the purpose of doing business. As a result of that establishment, it has necessitated customs and procedures in business ethics (Sherman et al, 2009). It is from that background that this paper will be endeavoring at elucidating and giving further details on the United States and Canada’s customs and procedures in business ethics.
Customs and procedures in business ethics in the United States
It is the believe of many that the United States has the most multifarious customs regulations very different from those of Canada as well as the rest of the world. But, it can be deduced that that notion is not true and they procedures can be equated to those of Canada. For instance, just like it will be expounded further down about Canada’s customs procedures, the lack of proper and insufficient documentation will result to delays as well as inspections in America’s entry points. Equivalent to Canada’s customs retirements, the United States has two major ways that goods can enter into the country. The first one is through a formal entry that is as well termed as a commercial entry or as an informal entry. But a majority of imports that enters the country does so through the formal entry from where the United States regulation necessitates the use of a broker. That is the same thing that the Canadian customs requirement necessitates as it will be discussed below. But, the difference between them can be noted to be in the second option of entry, that of informal entry. The informal entry in the United States does not require a broker unlike in Canada. Another distinctive feature when it comes to the customs procedures between the two countries is that the both the formal and informal imports into the country have to meet and abide by the regulations of other established business bodies in the country apart from the Customs Authorities (Murphy, 2002).
The Federal Trade Commission is one of such bodies. It is a body, just like several others that has been mandated with the powers of enforcing all import regulations for clothing and textiles. This can be attributed to the fact that they clothing and textiles are subjected to more restrictions in the United States than other commodities. Another body whose authority has to be adhered to in the process of importing goods and services into the country is the Food and Drug Administration (Sherman et al, 2009). Unlike Canada that does not have such bodies taking charge of goods entering their country, the FDA has been mandated to ensure the guidelines that have been set for labelling foodstuffs as well as beverages products are adhered to. Moreover, additional documentations ought to accompany them such as the certificate of Hygiene. Important to mention herein is the fact that entry into the United States has been said to be in two ways as mentioned exceedingly (Shaw, 2008). As for the formal entry into America, just as it is into Canada as it will expounded below, various documents ought to be present. One of the documents is the commercial invoice also known as the business invoice. It is a document that is used to indicate the exact value of the goods and services that are being shipped. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is another important document that both countries require at their point of entry. The Customer Assigned Number or the Importer ID Number is yet another document that is required by both of them. It is a document that enables them to establish bond coverage and it can be obtained by the brokers. Other documents needed by listing include Bill of landing or airway bill, entry manifest, among others (Jennings, 2012). Unlike in the Canadian customs and procedures, the clearing process in the United States Customs requires that the importer be notified once they goods have reached the entry points of the country. This can be attributed to a simple reason that the importer is the only one that the law allows to fill the entry documents.
Customs and procedures in business ethics in Canada
Comparable to the customs and procedures that United States has laid down, the same can be deduced from that of the Canadians. From the Canadian customs clearance procedures, it can be deduced that all shipments that are destined to Canada from all over the world ought to be reported to the Canada Customs at the time of their arrival. This is usually done by the shipment carriers who are required to report about the shipment at the point of entry (Murphy, 2002). There are various options that the carrier can opt from. For instance, the shipment carrier may opt for either electron or by submitting a carrier document that are known as the Cargo Control Document. The document is as well-known as waybill, manifest, or advice notice. It is only through the submission of such documents that arrangements for the release of the goods can be commenced, and it is something that the broker undertakes. Once the exceeding has been attained, the custom broker that has been authorized through registration by the Canadian Customs can start to act on the release of the goods (Sherman et al, 2009). The broker’s first step will be the preparation of the release of the good something that can be done electronically as it has been mentioned herein but there is a provision of undertaking the whole process manually. As to what method one opts to follow depends on the carrier method of reporting that was applied for.
In addition, it is the broker works hand in hand with the authorities of the Canadian Customs to ensure that the goods do meet the required standards before they can be allowed into the country. On top of that, the goods have to be subjected to the government set standard for each and every department (Murphy, 2002). For instance, the department of controlled drugs, the department of textiles, and the clothing among others all have to be met by the importer. It is the nature of the Canadian Customs authorities to randomly examine certain selected shipments. This is usually done to ensure as well as verify that the shipment that is being released into the country does meet the required standards (Jennings, 2012). In addition, the frequency of examination is not definite but rather depends on the compliance records of both the importer as well as the exporter. The other factor that may necessitate the urge of the Customs Authorities to inspect the goods is the type and nature of goods that are being imported. Furthermore, any insufficient and incomplete documentation for the shipment may not only delay for their release, but they may as well necessitate an inspection and examination. When it comes to the issues of the tax compliance as a custom procedure in Canada, the brokers are mandated to submit their final accounting package to the Canada Customs for purposes of paying the applicable duties as well as taxes (Shaw, 2008). This is a step that can only be taken once the goods have been verified and found to be meeting the set standards of the country.
Reference
Glick, L. A. (2008). Guide to United States customs and trade laws: After the Customs Modernization Act. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International.
Jennings, M. (2012). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings. Australia: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
Murphy, S. D. (2002). United States practice in international law. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Shaw, W. H. (2008). Business ethics. Belmont: Wadsworth. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/title/business-ethics/oclc/141386203
Sherman, M. D., Jarreau, J. S., Brew, J. B., & American Bar Association. (2009). U.S. customs: A practitioner's guide to principles, processes, and procedures. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Section of International Law and Practice.
