WWEMA: Export Trade
What is WWEMA’s Export Trade Certificate?
The Export Trade Certificate offers WWEMA members a way to gain a competitive edge in selling their products around the world by providing them with an antitrust “insurance policy” intended to foster joint export activities where economies of scale and risk diversification can be achieved.
Certified companies are provided immunity from Federal and State antitrust suits, both civil and criminal, when engaging in specified export activities.
The Certificate also creates a major disincentive to private suits by shortening the statute of limitations covering the certificate holder’s conduct, altering the burden of proof to the advantage of the certificate holder, providing for recovery of legal expenses in cases where the certificate holder prevails, and reducing liability from treble to single damages.
Participants must still comply with applicable foreign laws. The Certificate was issued in 1996 to WWEMA by the U.S. Department of Commerce with concurrence of the U.S. Department of Justice.
What Activities Does the Export Trade Certificate Cover?
Certified companies may team up with one or more other certified companies and engage in joint export activities such as:
- Entering into joint bidding and selling arrangements
- Establishing export prices
- Allocating customers or markets
- Sharing market & product information
- Conducting joint promotional activities
- Sharing the costs of overseas representation
- Interfacing on specifications & engineering requirements
- Bidding on large contracts
- Sharing the cost of transportation, insurance, overseas warehousing
- Operating joint facilities in export markets
- Cooperating on after-sales service
- Having exclusive dealing arrangements
How Can the Export Trade Certificate Benefit My Company?
By providing an opportunity to expand export markets through cooperative ventures with other certified companies under the Certificate using one or more of the following possibilities:
- establish an office in a newly developing market for improved communications and “bird-dogging” sales prospects at a lower cost
- Establish a parts depot to improve after-market product support
- Establish a distribution center to improve after-market product support
- Establish a training facility for contract commitments and improved after-market support
- Establish an allied equipment dealership in a newly developing market
- Establish a bonded warehouse showroom in a newly developing market
Your company can join with other WWEMA members in cutting costs and gaining a competitive edge in the world markets.
How Do We Get Certified?
First and foremost you must be WWEMA member. WWEMA members participating in the Association’s Export Trade Certificate may engage in joint bids and other cooperative efforts in pursuit of export sales – with a degree of protection from U.S. antitrust laws.
A Certified company may engage in joint export trade activities leading up to the sale, delivery and support of products and services covered by the Certificate, including agreements not to compete. To become “certified,” a company must contact WWEMA and be named in the Certificate.
For more information on the Certificate and how to become a Certified company, fill in and submit the form below: