Import & Customs
Bringing goods into the United States: trade terms, customs filings and fees, tariffs, and the port and container charges that affect landed cost.
Antidumping DutyADAn additional US duty on imports found to be sold below fair value, set by product, country, and often manufacturer, and collected alongside any countervailing duty on subsidized goods.Automated Commercial EnvironmentACEThe electronic system US Customs and Border Protection uses to process imports and exports, receiving entry filings, ISF data, partner agency information, and duty payments.Bonded WarehouseA CBP-authorized facility where imported goods can be stored without paying duty for up to five years from import, with duty due only when goods are withdrawn for US consumption.Cargo Ready DateCRDThe date a supplier confirms goods will be produced, packed, and available for pickup or delivery to the origin port or warehouse.Certificate of OriginA document or statement certifying the country where goods were produced, used to claim preferential duty rates under trade agreements or to meet an importing country's requirements.Commercial InvoiceThe seller's invoice for an international shipment that lists the parties, goods description, quantity, value, currency, country of origin, and sale terms, used by customs to assess duties.Cost, Insurance and FreightCIFAn Incoterms rule for sea and inland waterway transport in which the seller pays freight and minimum insurance to the destination port, while risk passes to the buyer once goods are loaded at origin.Country of OriginThe country where goods were wholly produced or, for goods with inputs from several countries, last substantially transformed into a new article with a new name, character, or use.Customs BondA surety bond posted with US Customs and Border Protection that guarantees an importer will pay duties, taxes, and fees and comply with import rules, issued as a single-transaction or continuous bond.Customs BrokerA licensed professional who files entries with US Customs and Border Protection and calculates duties on behalf of importers.Customs ExamAn inspection of an import shipment by US Customs and Border Protection or another agency, ranging from a non-intrusive X-ray scan to a full devanning at a centralized examination station.Customs Trade Partnership Against TerrorismCTPATA voluntary US Customs and Border Protection program in which importers, carriers, and other supply chain parties adopt security standards in exchange for benefits such as fewer inspections.De MinimisA value threshold below which imported shipments could enter duty-free with simplified entry. US Section 321 set this at $800 per person per day.Delivered at PlaceDAPAn Incoterm where the seller pays transport to the destination but the buyer pays import duties and taxes. In ecommerce often called DDU (delivered duties unpaid).Delivered Duty PaidDDPAn Incoterm, also used in cross-border ecommerce, where the seller pays all transport, duties, and taxes so the buyer owes nothing on delivery.DemurrageA fee charged when a container stays at the port or terminal longer than the allowed free time.DetentionA fee charged when a container or trailer is kept outside the terminal, or a truck waits at a facility, beyond the allowed free time.DrayageShort-distance trucking of ocean containers between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse.Duty DrawbackA refund of up to 99% of duties, taxes, and certain fees paid on imported goods that are later exported, destroyed, or used to make exported products.Entry SummaryCBP Form 7501The CBP Form 7501 filing, usually submitted electronically through ACE by a customs broker, that declares classification, value, origin, and duties for an import and accompanies the duty payment.Ex WorksEXWAn Incoterm where the seller only makes goods available at its own premises and the buyer handles all transport, export clearance, and risk.Foreign-Trade ZoneFTZA designated, CBP-supervised area in the US where foreign goods can be stored, processed, or assembled without paying US duties until they enter US commerce.Free CarrierFCAAn Incoterms rule in which the seller delivers goods, cleared for export, to the carrier or person the buyer nominates at a named place, where risk passes to the buyer.Free on BoardFOBAn Incoterm where the seller delivers goods loaded onto the vessel at the named port of origin, after which the buyer bears cost and risk.Free TimeThe number of days a terminal or ocean carrier allows an importer to pick up a container or return empty equipment before demurrage or detention charges begin.Freight ForwarderA company that books and coordinates international shipments across carriers, ports, and customs on behalf of a shipper.Full Container LoadFCLAn ocean shipment that fills, or is booked as, an entire container for one shipper.General OrderGOThe status of imported goods not entered with US Customs within 15 calendar days of arrival, which are then moved to a general order warehouse at the importer's expense.Harbor Maintenance FeeHMFA US fee charged as a percentage of the value of commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at certain US ports, applying to ocean shipments but not air or most land imports.Harmonized System CodeHS CodeA six-digit product classification code from the World Customs Organization's international Harmonized System, used as the base for national tariff schedules worldwide.Harmonized Tariff ScheduleHTSThe US system of product classification codes (based on the international Harmonized System) that determines duty rates for imports.House Bill of LadingHBLA bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder or NVOCC to its shipper customer, as distinct from the master bill of lading the ocean carrier issues to the forwarder.IEEPA TariffsAdditional US import duties imposed by executive order in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, applied by country of origin.Importer of RecordIORThe party legally responsible for an import into the US, including correct classification, valuation, and origin, payment of duties, and compliance with all import laws.Importer Security FilingISFA US filing, also called 10+2, that ocean importers must submit to CBP at least 24 hours before cargo is loaded on the vessel abroad.IncotermsStandard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that define which party pays for and bears risk in each leg of an international shipment.Less-than-Container LoadLCLAn ocean shipment that shares a container with other shippers' cargo, consolidated and deconsolidated at warehouses.Merchandise Processing FeeMPFA US Customs user fee on imports, charged on formal entries as a percentage of entered value subject to a minimum and maximum per entry, and as a flat fee on informal entries.Ocean Bill of LadingThe document an ocean carrier or NVOCC issues for sea cargo that serves as a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and, when negotiable, a document of title.Packing ListA shipping document that itemizes the contents of each carton or pallet in a shipment, including quantities, weights, dimensions, and marks, without stating prices.Port of EntryThe designated US location, such as a seaport, airport, or land border crossing, where imported goods are formally entered and cleared through customs.Section 301 TariffsAdditional US duties imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to a trading partner's unfair practices, most widely on many goods of Chinese origin since 2018.TransloadingMoving goods from an ocean container into a domestic 53-foot trailer, often near the port.Twenty-Foot Equivalent UnitTEUA standard measure of container capacity equal to one 20-foot container. A 40-foot container is 2 TEU.Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention ActUFLPAA US law, effective June 21, 2022, presuming that goods made wholly or partly in China's Xinjiang region, or by listed entities, use forced labor and are barred from import.