Americans are pretty used to paying taxes – whether on property, clothing, groceries and more. The tax rate differs depending on the item and where you live. But what about companies, like Monument, who purchase things like raw materials, from other countries. How does that work?

That’s where tariffs come in. A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country, and those percentages vary. When we import materials from China, for example, we must pay a U.S. tariff of 30% (no small fee!) – and that cost must be taken into consideration when we determine our profit margins on selling those imports within the U.S. But tariffs only apply to materials used domestically – within the U.S.

What about when we sell those imported materials to another country? Europe, for example, doesn’t have a tariff structure, so the European company doesn’t have to pay a tariff on the imports we sell them. But wait… Is it fair that Monument, as a U.S. company, must pay a tariff on an import that we aren’t using in the U.S., but are just selling to another country?

Well, there’s a work around. With an emphasis on the word “work.” In this scenario, Monument can get a Duty Drawback – which is a kind of refund – on the tariff we pay for imports that we are in turn selling to another country. But getting it approved by the government, documenting and keeping track of all those transactions – costs, tariffs, imports, exports, at what percentage, to what countries etc. – is a MONUMENTAL task. Especially starting from scratch. Oh, and in addition to all of that, there are certain entities and countries that the U.S. prohibits us selling to. If we were to sell to anyone on that list, substantial penalties and fines would be imposed.

Introducing Luci Barbosa, North America Compliance Manager, to help Monument! Luci joined our team in August 2019, with the role of (among other things) creating an auditable database of information on all our imports, monitoring who we sell to, and then applying for any Duty Drawbacks owed us by the US. Government.

“It’s a tough, thankless, behind-the-scenes job that few are even aware of, yet provides enormous rewards to Monument,” said Peri Sarves, VP, Business Leader Solvents. “Luci literally has to keep on top of the government to get that money refunded to Monument, and credits to date amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, this success allows us to be competitive in Europe for this critical line of products ”

“Luci is definitely willing to ask the tough questions internally and externally, to track details down,” said Jody Caines, Global Compliance Manager. “Luci is also an incredible help in dealing with the complexities involved with risk management and trade compliance. She’s a huge asset to the company. The dollars speak for themselves.”

And that about says it all!