UPS today announced enhancements to its TradeAbility global trade management tool, including a screener that automatically alerts shippers if theyre trying to send a package to a person, organization or country under official government restriction.

The newly upgraded Denied Party Screener tool, unveiled here today at the Internet Retailer Conference, helps customers comply with government trade regulations by identifying restricted trading partners before goods are shipped. Without such a tool, customers run the risk of packages being seized by customs.

TradeAbilitys Denied Party Screener tool relies on more than 25 U.S. government lists, and 10 non-U.S. lists, for its source information. That automates the process for shippers and eliminates the need to consult each list individually. The international sources include lists published by the United Nations, Interpol and the governments of Canada and Japan. UPS monitors these lists daily, providing the most up-to-date results. Todays enhancements bring UPSs list entries up to more than 20,000.

TradeAbility takes the guesswork out of cross-border shipping by giving our customers easy access to ever-changing global trade regulations, said Jordan Colletta, vice president of customer technology marketing for UPS. By demystifying the regulatory aspect of global trade, TradeAbility helps companies of all sizes expand into new markets and grow their businesses.

UPS TradeAbility is a Web-based management tool that provides international shippers with the ability to better manage the customs clearance processes for package shipments. Key capabilities include:

• Harmonizer: Quickly and accurately identifies and applies a products harmonized tariff code, which is used to describe goods for duty calculation, tariff assessments and documentation filings. This replaces a process that is often done manually requiring employees to physically search through many volumes of product codes.
• Landed Cost: Estimates the cost to move a shipment across borders, including duties, taxes and transportation charges. Accurately estimating landed costs helps exporters provide shipping rates with all duties and taxes included at the time of order, speeding cash flow and reducing the number of refused shipments and returned products.
• Denied Party Screener: Searches for restricted trading partners as defined by the United States government as well as countries embargoed by the U.S.
• Import Compliance: Verifies compliance of import shipments with country-specific trade regulations, procedures, tariffs, laws and administrative rulings.
• Export License Detector: Proactively identifies U.S. government export licensing requirements and exceptions.
• International Forms: Allows the completion of forms online or the ability to browse a library of online and downloadable documentation for both export and import shipments.
• Transaction History: Provides an audit trail for compliance checks and reduces potential penalties and fines. Customers can store and access detailed records of their TradeAbility transactions for reporting and compliance purposes. Transactions are available for 90 days, and customers also can download a single transaction or their entire transaction history for their permanent records.

TradeAbility tools are available on UPS.com or can be integrated into a customers business applications or Web site using Web Services, technology that allows developers to more easily link computers, software and networks through standard interfaces. TradeAbility is the first UPS service to be made available via Web Services technology.

Unlike services offered by competitors, TradeAbility requires no up-front outlay of funds or subscription fees. Services are offered free of charge or for a small transaction fee under $2 (U.S.).

UPS is the worlds largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS) and the company can be found on the Web at www.UPS.com.