International Trade Intern
AFL Global Telecommunications (May 2024 - August 2024)
Duncan, SC
From May to August 2024, I interned with AFL Telecommunications in Duncan, SC, a fiber optics company owned by the Japanese corporation Fujikura. During this internship, I worked in the International Trade Department, specializing in export and import compliance. My responsibilities included certifying products for USMCA eligibility, obtaining USMCA certifications from suppliers, cataloging items for duty drawback qualification, and conducting export compliance party screenings.
My Internship experience at AFL was one of the best real-life experiences I could ever get during my time at Clemson University! Interning in Duncan, South Carolina was a really big step for me since it was my first time ever living alone in an apartment and my first time trying to enter the industry that I was passionate in. I was also very lucky to have such a supportive group of co-workers and other interns who quickly become my friend as I was navigating my first internship experience.
During my time at AFL, I had a variety of responsibilities that included creating the daily export report, certifying USCMA vendor certificates, and saving money through the Duty Drawback Program. Going into more depth, my first task was to update the vendor MA certificates. This taught me how to use the software Trade Automation (TA) and gave me the foundation for this summer's internship (importance of record keeping, cost savings, etc). The second task I learned was updating the optical fiber cable assemblies, which introduced me to the software Oracle and how BOMs (Bill of Materials) worked. After this project, I gained a deep knowledge and understanding of how to use Oracle, as well as HTS, ECCN, and COO. After learning the basics, I then moved up to taking on qualifying wire harnesses that are used in a lot of car brands. For this project, I utilized Excel and Oracle to see if the wire harnesses qualify for USMCA. By doing this process, we were able to save roughly $300,000 on tariff rebates! My next task consisted of using UPS Quantum View since the US Customs and Border Protection requires having at least the past 5 years of shipment records to stay compliant. This taught me how to help AFL avoid fines from the government and the importance of record-keeping. Lastly, I made the daily export report, which let the department know if any of the orders were on hold, and also learned how to screen orders, which gave me a glimpse into the exporting side.
In Conclusion, I am so grateful and proud to have learned so many things while working at AFL. Imany things about the international trade space that I will definitely carry with myself for future job experiences. I would also like to thank my managers and co-workers for guiding me through how to do each task properly as well. It was truly a test of independence in all aspects that I think has set me up well for the future as I continue my journey after college.