Executive Summary:

Coffee is an important commodity and a popular beverage. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day. Over 90% of coffee production takes place in developing countries, while consumption happens mainly in the industrialized economies. Worldwide, 25 million small producers rely on coffee for a living. For instance, in Brazil alone, where almost a third of all the world's coffee is produced, over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants.
In 2009 Brazil was the world leader in production of green coffee, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Colombia.
7. Trade Rules and Regulations and Restrictions of USA:
As of 2009, there are several United States embargoes and sanctions in force by the United States against several countries and activities, the most notable of which are against countries the federal government of the United States considers State Sponsors of Terrorism
Some sanctions imposed by the United States government are: • No arms-related exports • Controls over dual-use exports • Restrictions on economic assistance • Financial restrictions o Requiring the United States to oppose loans by the World Bank and other international financial institutions. o Diplomatic immunity waived to allow families of terrorist victims to file for civil damages in U.S. courts. o Tax credits for companies and individuals denied for income earned in listed countries. o Duty-free goods exemption suspended for imports from those countries. o Authority to prohibit a U.S. citizen from engaging in financial transactions with the government on the list without a license from the U.S. government. o Prohibition of Defense Department contracts above $100,000 with companies controlled by countries on the list.

Trade Barriers:

With the decrease in tariffs over the past two decades, there have been new trade regulations imposed by the U.S. Legislature to protect American businesses from unfair trade practices. There are also restricted imported classes of goods making it illegal to bring them into the country. As an importer of goods into the U.S., one must familiarize with the rules and regulations.

Antidumping Duties: Extra duties used to offset goods brought into the U.S. to be sold at less than its fair market value. Countervailing Duties Additional duties assessed to counter subsidies provided to the merchandise that is exported into the U.S. Import Quotas Control of the quantities of classes of goods imported into the United States. The rules are determined by the U.S. legislature and executed by the U.S. Customs. Import Quotas can be either Tariff-rate or Absolute.

Tariff-rate quotas permit the entry of goods at a lower tariff for a specific time. Goods brought in beyond the quota will receive a higher duty.

Absolute quotas - no more than the quota will be allowed to be imported.

Trade Regulation:

There are numerous restricted classes of goods. Here are some of them which you should be aware of:

Dairy products, cheese & milk - this is under the strict control of the Food & Drug Administration. One must have a special license to import most cheeses.

Nuts, fruits and vegetable - some groups must meet the U.S. regulations in terms of size, quality and maturity. You must have a certificate from the Food Safety and Inspection service of the Department of Agriculture.

There are other goods under the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture rules: insects, livestock & animals, meat & meat products, poultry & poultry products.

Plants and plant products -Depending on plant’s category, there may be rules imposed by the Department of Agriculture. When in doubt, check first.

Foods and cosmetics - Before deciding to import special plant roots from China promising long life, check with the Food & Drug Administration to make sure that this is not violating their rules for false advertising.

Arms, ammunition, explosives & war devices - Forget it. The answer is no unless under special permission from the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Household Appliance - under the regulations of Department of Energy.

Biological Drugs - regulated by the Food & Drug Administration .

Gold or silver - no special rules for jewelry but raw gold and silver fall under the Justice or Treasury Departments.

Furs & textiles - rules governed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Alcoholic drinks - fall under the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of the Treasury Department.

Petroleum - check with the Department of Energy.

This is only meant to be a sample list and may seem discouraging. However, for most small importers, goods may not even fall under any restricted categories. If it does, a call to the appropriate department should give the right information on what to do.

International HRM policies:

9. Outsourcing of United States:

"Outsourcing" became a popular political issue in the United States, having been confounded with off shoring during the 2004. Generally USA enjoys the location economy for its coffee industry. Statistics reveal that more than half of Americans-over 150 million people daily-drink coffee, with even more drinking it or using it in recipes more infrequently. That means the United States is responsible for more than 1/5 of the entire world's consumption of coffee. For wide-spread consumption, it needs also some outsourcing for the production of some green coffee because. Sometimes the coffee firm owners outsource cheap labor from other poor countries. USA mostly outsource from 67 countries. The top 5 countries are:

▪ Colombia ▪ Brazil ▪ Guatemala ▪ Costa Rica ▪ Indonesia