Subject Overview

An advanced study of the documents, regulations, workflows and managerial systems governing cross-border movement of goods. The subject integrates contracting, customs, logistics, payments, finance, compliance, risk, digital trade and strategic operational control.

Learning Goal

Students will be able to design, execute, audit and improve compliant import-export transactions; prepare and scrutinize trade documents; calculate duties and landed cost; manage logistics, payments and risks; and make technology-enabled managerial decisions in evolving global trade environments.

Syllabus

1. Foundations of Import-Export Operations

Learning Objective: Explain international trade terminology, transaction participants, trade theories, institutional frameworks, trade facilitation principles and the end-to-end export-import ecosystem.

Category: foundation

2. International Trade Transaction Design

Learning Objective: Map enquiry-to-settlement workflows; evaluate market entry, product eligibility, buyer and supplier due diligence; and allocate responsibilities using process maps, checklists and transaction-cost reasoning.

Category: foundation

3. Export Sales Contracts and Incoterms

Learning Objective: Draft and evaluate international sales contracts covering price, delivery, title, risk, warranties, governing law and dispute clauses; apply current Incoterms rules and identify common allocation errors.

Category: core

4. Trade Documentation Architecture

Learning Objective: Prepare and reconcile commercial invoices, pro forma invoices, packing lists, certificates, transport documents, inspection records, declarations and supporting documents using documentary-control principles.

Category: core

5. Product Classification, Customs Valuation and Origin

Learning Objective: Apply HS classification, customs valuation methods, rules of origin, preferential tariffs and origin certification; assess classification disputes and calculate duty implications.

Category: core

6. Export Procedures and Regulatory Clearances

Learning Objective: Execute export registration, licensing, documentation, customs filing, examination, shipment, post-export evidence, drawback and incentive procedures while managing restricted and controlled goods.

Category: application

7. Import Procedures and Customs Clearance

Learning Objective: Manage pre-arrival requirements, import licensing, declarations, assessment, duties, bonded warehousing, temporary admission, clearance, post-entry corrections and customs audits.

Category: application

8. International Logistics and Transport Documentation

Learning Objective: Select transport modes and carriers; interpret bills of lading, air waybills and multimodal documents; manage freight, containers, ports, warehousing, packaging, dangerous goods and delivery performance.

Category: core

9. International Payments and Documentary Credit Operations

Learning Objective: Compare advance payment, open account, collections, letters of credit and bank guarantees; examine documents under UCP 600, ISBP and URC; manage discrepancies, fraud and settlement decisions.

Category: core

10. Trade Finance, Foreign Exchange and Landed-Cost Analysis

Learning Objective: Evaluate pre- and post-shipment finance, receivables finance, supply-chain finance and export credit; manage currency exposure and calculate total landed cost, margins, taxes and working-capital requirements.

Category: application

11. Quality, Inspection, Packaging and Cargo Readiness

Learning Objective: Design quality assurance, inspection, testing, certification, labeling, marking, packaging and cargo-security controls aligned with contractual, destination-market and product-specific requirements.

Category: application

12. Trade Risk, Insurance, Claims and Dispute Management

Learning Objective: Use risk matrices and scenario analysis to manage country, commercial, transport, documentary and operational risks; select cargo and credit insurance and administer claims, arbitration and dispute resolution.

Category: advanced

13. Compliance, Governance, Ethics and Sustainable Trade

Learning Objective: Build compliance systems for sanctions, export controls, denied parties, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, forced-labour restrictions, data protection and ESG requirements; address ethical and governance dilemmas.

Category: strategic

14. Digital Trade, Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Learning Objective: Evaluate electronic documents, e-bills of lading, single windows, customs platforms, blockchain, IoT and trade-management systems; apply AI to document extraction, anomaly detection and compliance while controlling cybersecurity, privacy and model risk.

Category: contemporary

15. Strategic Operations, Analytics and Emerging Trade Models

Learning Objective: Use dashboards, KPIs, landed-cost models, exception analytics and case analysis to optimize global trade operations; evaluate resilience, nearshoring, geopolitical change, carbon-border measures and future paperless trade developments.

Category: strategic