Category: U.S. Customs

In all the years of my career, I don’t think I have seen so many articles or news stories on tariffs as I have since Donald Trump won the election in November.  Everyone is trying to speculate on what he is going to do and if he will follow through with his promises on increasing…

Commercial hand carries are classified as imports or exports and therefore necessitate the same compliance reviews as items shipped in standard packaging. Does your organization engage in the hand-carrying of commercial items for import or export? If so, do you have a formal policy or procedure in place to ensure compliance with relevant regulations? In…

In 1789 Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, “… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Nothing rings truer than when you are trying to import merchandise from another country. If you don’t get all the elements correct for an import entry, you might…

The game of deception is a bad guy’s favorite game. The lengths of trouble that these people will go to in order to violate the law is extraordinary. Whether it is firearms, drugs or even money, their skills at trying to deceive U.S. Customs or BIS is quite astounding. I have witnessed some of their…

The U.S. government’s recent decision to increase Section 301 tariffs on certain Chinese imports is a significant development in the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China. While aimed at addressing long-standing trade issues, these tariffs also raise concerns for importers who rely on Chinese goods. Understanding Section 301 Tariffs Section 301 of…

In the world of international shipping and e-commerce, the term “Section 321” has gained significance, especially among those importing goods into the United States. Under this provision of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, shipments valued at $800 or less can enter the country duty-free and without formal entry requirements. However, the…

In The Matrix, a computer hacker named Neo takes a red pill that unlocks a hidden world – one where he has tremendous superpowers and vision into the true nature of reality. In trade compliance, unfortunately, there are no magic red pills. But if you want to get down to the truth, there is a…

Duty drawback is probably the most under used duty recovery program available by U.S. Customs. Most companies tend to look for duty savings on the front end when they import goods into the U.S.  With duty drawback, you get a full refunded duties back on the back end. It’s kind of like when you file…

Shipping goods into the United States isn’t always a seamless process.  At some point, almost every U.S. importer will experience a clearance delay getting their goods through U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).  What does this mean? In a nutshell, a clearance delay means your shipment hasn’t cleared Customs and is still in their possession. …

Trade compliance audits can be scary, cumbersome and time-consuming.  Why would any company subject itself to this?  The importance of any import/export compliance audit is to avoid the dreaded “F&P” words.  These are two words that most companies don’t want to hear … or even say (unless it’s behind closed doors). I’m talking about Fines…