Guide to Tariffs, Customs, Duty, and Taxes // How to Easily Import your Product
By now, you should know that the US has imposed a 10 -25% tariff on around $550 billion of goods exported from China into the United States. There is a great deal of uncertainty with the tariffs, but we will let you know how to navigate it the best you can. Even before the current trade dispute, buyers still had to pay duties and customs fees on a wide range of products shipped into the United States.
Please note: This section is also written from an American perspective; however, the process of finding out tariffs and duties is relatively similar to most Western countries and the EU.
Figuring out the HTS Code
One of the big things that you need to know about your product is the HTS Code. HTS stands for Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and the US's system determines what tariffs are placed on a product. Therefore, any product imported into the US must be accurately classified by its HTS code, and the tariffs will be applied accordingly. The HTS code is based on the International Harmonized System, a globally recognized trade classification system.
This part can be difficult, especially if it's a new product; it takes a decent amount of searching to find the right product category. Of course, if you're importing an existing product, then it should have a classification. But if you are importing a new product that does not exist in the market, it can; the easiest way to do it is to look for similar items or items made of the same material.
You can freely search the US's database here: https://hts.usitc.gov/
In the end, you should have a ten-digit HTS number (####.##.####) that corresponds to your product. Now that you have that figured out, you can look up the tariffs.
Looking up the Tariffs of your product
Looking up the tarrif for each product is for importing into the United States; however, almost every other country publicly posts the rates on a publicly available government website. Mostly, the rates will be done by the department or ministry that handles trade. You can use the same HTS tool to lookup your tariffs as you did to look up the HTS code: https://hts.usitc.gov/
If you are importing from China into the United States, you can view the complete list of affected products and their tariffs here [PDF Warning]: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2018-13248.pdf
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Existing tariffs and Duty Taxes
Keep in mind that there are still existing duties and fees applicable to most products in addition to the new tariffs. You should find the existing duties using the same link to the HTS database. This database has the duty listed,
Screenshot of the HTS look tool.
In the above, you'll notice multiple columns; from left to right, they are
Heading/Subheading, which is the HTS Number (4, 6, and 8 digits) Stat Suffix, combined with the Heading/Subheading, is the ten-digit HTS Number.
Article description
Unit of Quantity
Tariff Rates
General Rate of Duty
Special Rate of Duty
Column 2 Rate of Duty
This is just a quick summary; the complete in-depth guide can be found here [PDF Warning] http://www.usitc.gov/documents/hts_external_guide.pdf
Regulatory issues
Looking up regulatory issues tends to be the most challenging aspect of the validation step. Unfortunately, there isn't a centralized database for what regulations are needed for each product.
The US's best resource is Customs and Borders Protection (CBP), which publishes several guides across a vast range of products and classifications. Not sure if what you are importing is a bolt or a screw? They have a guide for that. Are you imported mittens, figure out how they are made because they are crocheted or knitted, then surprise! You're getting tariffs! You're going to want to sit down for this one. Ready? Check out this groundbreaking decision on The difference between candle holders and decorative glass!
To add further complications, agencies such as the FDA and FCC regulate importing goods but defer the enforcement to CBP. If you are importing anything relating to health or food, it's most likely subject to FDA approval or regulations. If you Import an electronic item, particularly one with radio waves, including but not limited to cellular, wifi, or Bluetooth, you need to get FCC approval. If you are importing natural food items, it is regulated by the Department of Agriculture, but it also may be subject to the FDA. More agencies have regulations, but the FCC and FDA are the two we encounter the most. Ultimately it's up to you to research and find out the regulations.
The CBP is the agency in charge of clearing goods for export, so they are the final authority on this issue. If unsure, you can message the CBP and request a letter to classify or clarify the goods. However, at the time of this writing, the Government and CBP are shut down and not responding to any requests. Furthermore, even when the agency is open, there is no guarantee that they will respond; if they do, the response can take weeks. So at the end of the day, we recommend you do the research yourself.
You can go to Customs and Border Protection's website and see the complete list of guides. https://www.cbp.gov/trade/rulings/informed-compliance-publications
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