United States

A) Identify your import rights into the U.S

Identify your import rights, some types of goods and services require a license or permit to import into the U.S.] Needless to say, check import goods for rights to ship to the U.S.

Most cases, you will not need a license to import goods into the U.S. However, certain goods require a license, permit, or other certification.

Info: In order to get all the information about required documents and how to proceed to import into the U.S, you can click here: Obtain an Import License or Permit

Remark: Many import regulations only apply to goods imported for commercial – business or resale – purposes.

Not to mention, customs authority can decided whether importations have a personal purpose or not.

B) Ensure that the goods are importable into the U.S

Certain goods are prohibited or restricted. Each country has its own list of blacklisted products.

Find out whether the goods you intend to import are subject to any permits, restrictions or regulations set by the U.S government.

Part of the responsibility of an exporter is to understand the rules and compliance requirements of the product you intend to import into any country.

Importing incorrectly leading to breaking the law would cost money or at the very least, goods will be detained or destroyed.

Info: Prohibited and restricted goods

C) Classify the goods you want to import into the U.S

Advice: Try to gather as much information as possible about the items you wish to import such as descriptive literature, product composition information and, whenever possible, product samples.

Indeed, this is essential in order not to fail the custom clearance.

Moreover, two specific documentations are very important: the tariff classification number based on the Harmonized System (HS) Code and the Certificate of Origin.

• The HS Code is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded product, established by the World Customs Organization. It determines the tariff classification number of a product.
• The Certificate of Origin is a document used to certify that the products exported are completely obtained, produced or manufactured in a particular country. It should only be issued when they are actually needed, for example to meet customs requirements in the importing process.

The tariff clarification number based and the certificate of origin are both used to determine the rate of duty you would have to pay when importing.

You will have to determine the 10-digit tariff classification number for each item you import based of the HS Code. 

Remark SINO: Pay attention to the Incoterms, and calculate the total landed cost before you order.

Ensure that the supplier agrees to ship under FOB terms from their nearest port or airport as this will greatly reduce your shipping costs and give you more control over the shipment(as explained at the beginning of the article).