What should be noted when transporting internationally by air to the United States?
The United States is one of the most important markets for cross-border air freight, and it is also a destination with very strict compliance requirements. Many sellers only focus on the delivery time of the first leg of air freight, while ignoring the local customs clearance rules, tariff rules, and the end delivery system in the United States. This often leads to problems such as cargo detention, high fines, accumulated warehouse rent, and failed appointment for delivery. To stabilize the US air freight line, it is necessary to plan the entire chain of the first leg, customs clearance, tariffs, and end delivery as a complete link.
The first step is customs clearance policies and compliance preparations. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the core regulatory body. All commercial shipments need to be officially declared. The compliance documents include commercial invoices, packing lists, and bills of lading. For some categories, additional qualification documents such as FDA, FCC, and CPSC are also required. Product labels and origin markings must also comply with US requirements. After the cancellation of the 800-dollar minimum exemption policy for small shipments by the US Customs, regardless of the value, commercial goods need to be officially declared and there is a possibility of taxation. There is no longer a simple customs clearance channel for small packages. This is the biggest policy change in the US line in recent years. Many old sellers still follow the old thinking and are easily hit by problems.
The customs clearance mode is divided into two types: DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) and DDU (Delivered Without Duty Paid). The DDP mode is where the shipper or freight forwarder designates a customs clearance company to pay the tariffs and handle customs clearance, while the consignee waits for the delivery. This is friendly to the buyer, but the shipper needs to bear the tariffs, inspection risks, and customs clearance costs. The DDU mode is where the US consignee acts as the importer and clears customs and pays taxes themselves. The consignor has lower risks, but there are requirements for the overseas buyer's customs clearance qualifications. It is important to note that the importer's IOR (Importer of Record) qualification must be genuine and valid. IOR is the first responsible person for customs clearance in the United States. If the IOR is invalid or used to clear customs with a borrowed qualification, the goods will be directly detained and even leave the enterprise with a bad customs record. The subsequent inspection rate will continue to increase. In addition, the inspection schedules at the ports in the US West and East are different. The ports in the US West have a large volume of cargo flow and longer queuing times for customs clearance, so a customs clearance buffer period needs to be reserved.
The second step is tariff calculation and cost control. Tariff rates are determined by the HS code. Errors in HS code classification are a frequent problem. Deviations in classification not only result in penalties for underreporting or omission but also may lead to overpayment of tariffs. In addition to the basic tariffs, some Chinese products also involve additional 301 tariffs. The quotation stage must account for these in advance to avoid profits being swallowed by taxes. The entity responsible for tariff payment should be clearly stated in the order contract and confirmed with the overseas buyer in advance to avoid disputes and non-payment after the goods arrive at the port, resulting in high warehouse rent. The free storage period after the goods arrive at the port is very short, and prolonged stay will result in continuously rising warehouse fees and detention fees. In severe cases, the customs has the right to auction the goods. UPS.
The last step is the end delivery arrangement. The end delivery system in the US is very different from domestic express delivery. It mainly consists of three types: Amazon FBA warehouse appointment delivery, overseas warehouse warehousing, and private address commercial delivery. FBA warehouses have a strict appointment warehousing system. After the customs clearance of air freight is completed, the goods cannot be delivered directly. They must obtain an FBA appointment number and deliver according to the appointment time; without an appointment delivery will be rejected and returned, resulting in secondary delivery fees. Overseas warehouse delivery is relatively flexible, but the consignor must confirm the warehouse receiving time and whether advance notification is required. Private address delivery requires distinguishing residential surcharges and remote area surcharges. The mainstream end delivery service providers include trucking companies, UPS, and FedEx. Truck delivery is suitable for large quantities of full pallet goods with lower unit prices; express delivery is suitable for small batches of scattered goods with faster but higher costs.