Location
Customs Clearance for Shipments To and From the United States
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) administers a formal, well-documented entry process, but volume and enforcement priorities (particularly around forced-labor and trade-remedy compliance) mean documentation has to hold up to real scrutiny, not just be complete on paper.
Primary gateway: Los Angeles / Long Beach
Key gateways
- Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach
- Port of New York and New Jersey
- Port of Savannah
- Chicago O'Hare for air cargo
- Los Angeles International Airport for air cargo
05
Named ports & gateways
05
Key industries
04
Common shipment types
02
Common questions
Customs environment
How clearance works here
Ocean shipments require Importer Security Filing (ISF, often called '10+2') submitted before the cargo is loaded at the foreign port — this is separate from the formal entry filed on arrival. CBP uses the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for electronic filing, and enforcement priorities such as Section 301 tariffs on specific China-origin goods and forced-labor import bans (under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) are active considerations for relevant supply chains.
Key industries
- Consumer electronics
- Apparel and footwear
- Automotive parts
- Machinery and industrial equipment
- Agricultural and food products
Common shipment types
- High-volume containerized retail goods
- Shipments subject to Section 301 tariffs requiring careful classification and country-of-origin documentation
- Goods with forced-labor supply chain exposure requiring additional origin documentation
- Time-sensitive e-commerce and courier shipments
Documentation
Standard entry requires a commercial invoice, packing list, and bill of lading/airway bill, plus an ISF filing for ocean shipments submitted before loading. Goods potentially subject to Section 301 tariffs or forced-labor scrutiny may need additional supply chain documentation to demonstrate origin and production conditions.
Duties & taxes
Duty is assessed based on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification, transaction value, and country of origin. Certain product categories from specific origin countries carry additional trade-remedy duties (Section 301, anti-dumping, or countervailing duties) on top of the standard HTS rate — these change based on active trade actions and should be confirmed per shipment, not assumed static.
Rates and thresholds change — confirm current figures for your specific goods before relying on them for a shipment.
Watch for
Where clearance commonly runs into trouble
A small, recurring set of causes accounts for most delays in this market. Knowing them ahead of time reduces the odds of hitting one.
- 01
Late or missing ISF filings resulting in CBP penalties, independent of whether the entry itself is compliant
- 02
Section 301 tariff exposure not identified until after the goods have shipped
- 03
Forced-labor detention holds requiring supply chain documentation the importer wasn't prepared to produce quickly
- 04
HTS classification disputes affecting duty rate, particularly for products with genuinely ambiguous headings
Terms you'll see
- ISF (10+2)
- Importer Security Filing — data submitted to CBP before ocean cargo is loaded at the foreign port, separate from the formal entry.
- HTS
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule — the US-specific classification system used to determine duty rates.
- Section 301
- Trade-remedy tariffs applied to specific product categories from certain origin countries, layered on top of standard duty.
Common questions
Services we provide in United States
Tools for shipments to/from United States
Nearby in the network