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This is the first of three articles that discuss the definition and use of the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) and provide real-life case studies (with the names changed) of which firm is legally the USPPI.
In the fall of 2000, the U. S. Census Bureau updated the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) and replaced the term Exporter with the new term U.S. Principal Party in Interest or USPPI.
There are several reasons the regulations were changed including:
Clarify and specify the documentation and documentation sharing responsibilities of all parties in an export transaction. In a routed export transaction the forwarding agent is responsible for providing the U.S. Principal Party in Interest with documentation verifying that the information provided by the USPPI was accurately reported through the Automated Export System (AES).
Identify the data the USPPI is responsible for reporting, which is their name, Employer's Identification Number (EIN), and basic commodity information to the U.S. agent of the Foreign Principal Party in Interest (FPPI) in a routed export transaction.
Create conformity in document issuance. For purposes of providing the electronic export information (EEI) that is submitted to AES, the exporter is always designated as the USPPI, and the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations clearly specifies who that party must be. Also, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) define the parties who may be listed as applicant on the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) license. The only difference is that the EAR, in certain routed export transactions, will allow the agent of the foreign principal party in interest to be listed as the exporter on the license.
This has caused consternation and confusion among many companies that are shipping their merchandise to foreign customers as they try to understand the regulations and determine who is legally defined as the USPPI for their shipments.
The U.S. Census Bureau website provides these definitions of the USPPI:
Who is the U.S. Principal Party in Interest?
The person in the United States that receives the primary benefits, monetary or otherwise, of the export transaction; generally that person is the U.S. seller, manufacturer, order party or foreign entity. The foreign entity must be listed as the USPPI if it is in the United States when the items are purchased or obtained for export.
Who cannot be the U.S. Principal Party in Interest?
The forwarding agent or the consolidator cannot be listed as the U.S. principal party in interest on the AES record.
Who can be the U.S. Principal Party in Interest?
Generally that person can be the:
U.S. seller (wholesaler/distributor) of the merchandise for export.
U.S. manufacturer if selling the merchandise for export.
U.S. order party if the order party directly negotiated between the U.S. seller and foreign buyer and received the order for the export of the merchandise.
Foreign entity if in the U.S. when items are purchased or obtained for export.
Case Study
This first case study is a common export transaction and is relatively easy to determine who is the USPPI. Future case studies will demonstrate how complex it can be to determine the USPPI.
Seller: Monterrey Fish Supply & Trading Co., 14555 Monterrey Bay Road, Monterrey, CA 98888
Monterrey Fish Supply & Trading Co. sold 30 Metric Tons of frozen fish to their customer in Taiwan using the Incoterm CIP Kaohsiung, Taiwan, international freight prepaid. Monterrey will be the shipper on the international bill of lading and they will issue the international commercial invoice.
USPPI in this transaction: Monterrey Fish Supply & Trading Co.
Exporter in this transaction: Monterrey Fish Supply & Trading Co.
Part 2 of this series looks at how another common sales arrangement may change who the USPPI may be in an export transaction.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| NUKRU90X/3AS NTN | 30 | 90 | 37 |
| NUKRU80X/3AS NTN | 30 | 80 | 37 |