During tough economic times, there's the tendency for companies to cut costs by reducing head count. The news these days is loaded with reports of major corporations announcing significant layoffs, and surely numerous small and medium-sized firms, which go largely unnoticed in the media, are doing the same. Eliminating staff to save money risks the danger of suffering incalculable loss of institutional knowledge in key operational functions, especially compliance with federal import and export regulations. While the engine of international commerce has slowed, goods are still moving across borders, and some U.S.-made products and technologies that continue to be shipped are subject to strict regulatory oversight by agencies such as the Homeland Security Department's Customs and Border Protection and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
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