ILMA Compoundings - July 2019 - 26

said, adding that a lot of international businesses come to
the ILMA meetings. "You build the relationship over time."

Meeting Regulatory Requirements

The Commerce Department can help exporters identify the
regulatory concerns they need to comply with and any standards issues they must address to be in compliance within
the importing country.
An important issue is the availability of EXIM support.
"One of the best tools EXIM can provide is our country
schedule, which lists the countries and the public and private sectors where EXIM can provide support," Koenig said.
EXIM's country schedule is available on exim.gov. The
site lists every country in the world and identifies which
countries the bank can support and those where it has
limitations. "We think the country schedule is a great tool
because it tells what the risk is," Koenig said. "In some
countries, we may not be able to support the public sector,
and in others, we may not be able to support private-sector
business. If there are any special conditions in a market,
they are all keyed on that document."
Decker said exporters have to know where their product is
going. "There are certain countries we can't do business with,
like Iran, so you have to know the laws - the U.S. law and
their law," he said. "Make sure you research the countries
you want to do business with and study the competition.
Make sure it is an ethical fit."
Koenig said exporters should get to know the country
they're shipping into. "There may or may not be import
regulations. One of the best tools EXIM can provide is our
country schedule," Koenig said.
She added that exporters have to understand the export
documentation. "There is quite a bit of documentation, but
there is a lot of help out there as well," Koenig said, adding
that freight forwarders can often help with the required
paperwork.
For ILMA members, partnering with other businesses
can help them ensure they're meeting all local requirements.
Decker said American Oil has formed partnerships abroad.
"I'm a big believer, especially for small businesses, that
localizing is key," he said. "You utilize someone that is there
doing business that is from that country."
Manufacturers can also partner with U.S. companies that
have international operations. American Oil does this with
its lubricant product line for cables. "We have a partner that
is a U.S.-based company, but they have operations throughout the world, so our product is getting out into the world
through them."
Kudis noted that there are import taxes and fees that
exporters have to keep up on, and he said Allegheny Petroleum has worked with partner companies in the countries

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| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

where it sells products. "It is helpful having partner companies who are local to our international customers. The local
'partner' companies live it day to day. They understand the
taxes, fees and local regulations," Kudis said, adding that
Allegheny has licensed products with a partner company.
Barbara Kudis, president of Allegheny Petroleum, said she
has found the companies that Allegheny is working with
want to bring higher-quality oils into the market. "We're
helping them get there," she said, adding that Allegheny
Petroleum was approached by a distributor in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, that wanted to take advantage of Allegheny
Petroleum's expertise, as the distributor had previously
received inconsistent products with questionable quality and
documentation issues.
"We visited them and noticed their labels and safety data
sheets were incorrect," Jim Kudis said. As a result, Allegheny
Petroleum's GHS expert worked with the distributor to redo
labels and SDS sheets, and "now that customer receives the
most current specification-based products with consistent
quality confidence."
Jim Kudis said he has also invested time in sharing
information with his Jamaican counterparts who are often
eager for technical details. "We had a lot of discussions
when there were new specifications when CK-4 was coming
in," he said. "They listened wholeheartedly, trying to grab as
much information as they could get."

Mitigating Financial Risk

EXIM offers insurance policies to minimize the risks of
foreign-buyer nonpayment that exporters may face. "We
have several different types of insurance, so it can be
customized to what the exporter is selling," Koenig said.
Policies typically offer either 100%, 95% or 90% of
coverage of nonpayment by a foreign buyer.
Koenig said many exporters are using this risk protection
as a sales tool because it enables them to extend open credit
terms to customers when securing new business. She added
that many of today's buyers are now asking for credit terms.
"They don't want to pay cash in advance before they get
the product, and letters of credit can be costly," Koenig said.
"I think the exporters should at least engage in a conversation to learn how they can extend open account credit and
still be protected from potential loss."
What's more, an exporter can use its insured receivables to
add into its borrowing base with its bank, Koenig explained.
"Most banks exclude foreign receivables to a borrowing base.
When an exporter goes to the bank for a loan, they're going
to look for their domestic receivables," she said, adding that
foreign receivables are often excluded because they can be
difficult to collect.

http://www.exim.gov http://www.ILMA.ORG

ILMA Compoundings - July 2019

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