Does anyone know what US customs rates are

[Digmen1]

Hi Guys

Slightly off topic I know, but does anyone know what sort of customs and tariff rates (if any) the US charges for small plastic items imported from say China or Europe ?

I am thinking of exporting to the USA.

[mattb]

You can check the HTS. This is duty paid by the USA Importer. [usitc.gov...]

[HugeNerd]

Digmen1, I'd check with the company you intend to use for the freight. Most companies I am aware of (UPS, FedEx, many import/export firms and at least 2 companies we use to move some of our international freight) offer brokerage accounts. I don't touch our overseas freight at all, so my knowledge is rather scant, but I believe with say, a UPS brokerage account, they take care of all the customs paperwork and getting it actually in the country. Not sure how the fees break down in the least...I know we use the brokerage services because they've got the in-house knowledge for taking care of all the paperwork to minimize the taxes, tariffs and import fees. I do want to stress that this is an area I've nearly no knowledge of, just that we do it that way...

So if you use a major carrier, I'd ask them for your likely rates. You could also try a 3rd party logistics provider like CH Robinson -- all they do is move other people's freight, so I imagine they'd be able to give you ballpark figures quite handily.

[MrHard]

Customs rates are a major headache and difficult to accurately gauge. You can spend an entire day on the phone talking to different people and getting different rates. If your not prepared to just pay them, you should probably not be importing.