Tag: Customs Compliance
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Tariff Consulting for Amazon Sellers: What Every FBA Importer Needs to Know About Customs Compliance
Introduction: You Are an Importer, Whether You Realize It or Not If you sell products on Amazon that are manufactured overseas, you are an importer. It does not matter whether you think of yourself as an importer, whether you have ever heard the term importer of record, or whether your freight forwarder handles everything from…
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Introduction: Ontario’s Unique Position in Cross-Border Trade Ontario is the economic engine of Canadian cross-border trade with the United States. With the busiest land border crossings in North America, a manufacturing sector deeply integrated with U.S. supply chains, and a concentration of businesses that depend on seamless goods movement across the border, Ontario businesses face…
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Food and Beverage Importing Is Different F&B products face extensive FDA regulation, specialized tariff provisions including tariff-rate quotas and seasonal duties, and duty rates among the highest in the HTSUS – some exceeding 40 percent. Classification Challenges Preparation level matters (fresh vs. dried vs. canned). Ingredient composition drives classification for prepared foods. Sugar and dairy…
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The $800 Rule That Built an Industry CBP processes over a million de minimis shipments per day. This exponential growth has raised concerns about duty avoidance, trade remedy evasion, and product safety circumvention. How De Minimis Works Today Shipments valued at $800 or less can enter without formal entry or duty payment. The threshold applies…
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Compliance Is a Team Sport Every employee who touches an import transaction plays a role in compliance. Training transforms your organization from one depending on a single point of expertise into one where compliance awareness is distributed across every function. Who Needs Training Executive leadership: legal framework and ROI of compliance. Procurement: how decisions affect…
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Security as a Trade Advantage C-TPAT is a voluntary public-private partnership that recognizes supply chain participants maintaining robust security. Certified partners receive tangible trade facilitation benefits including reduced inspections and expedited processing. Benefits of Certification Reduced inspections and examinations, expedited processing, front of the line during elevated threats, mutual recognition with foreign trusted trader programs,…
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The Ecommerce Import Boom and Its Compliance Gap Ecommerce importers are subject to the same customs laws as any other importer, but many are unaware of these obligations. CBP has identified ecommerce imports as a priority enforcement area. Customs Compliance Basics You need an importer of record number. Every product must be classified under the…
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Origin Matters More Than You Think Country of origin affects duty rates, eligibility for preferential treatment, applicability of trade remedy duties, admissibility under import restrictions, and marking requirements. Getting origin wrong can raise suspicions of transshipment or evasion. Two Origin Frameworks Non-preferential origin uses the substantial transformation test. Preferential origin uses agreement-specific rules. A single…
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Valuation Is the Foundation of Your Duty Calculation If classification determines the percentage rate, valuation determines the dollar amount to which that percentage is applied. Valuation errors affect every product at every duty rate and can be equally or more significant than classification errors. Understanding the Transaction Value Method The transaction value is the price…
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The Most Important Name on the Customs Entry Every customs entry must identify an importer of record (IOR): the entity legally responsible for ensuring accuracy, paying duties, and meeting all regulatory requirements. Being the IOR is the assumption of significant legal and financial obligations. What the IOR Is Responsible For Accuracy of entry data, paying…