What’s on our minds

Anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) rulings shift more often than most importers expect, and a new determination can add substantial cost to a product line overnight. If you import from countries or industries with a history of AD/CVD exposure, staying current on active orders matters as much as getting your HTS classification right. Here’s ...

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle plus Tacoma) moves well over two million TEUs a year, making it the closest major U.S. gateway to Asia by sailing time. For brands importing from China, Korea, Japan, or Southeast Asia, landing inventory in the Puget Sound and fulfilling from there means shorter ocean transits and same-week availability for ...

Every importer needs a customs bond — it’s a CBP requirement, not optional. But which type makes sense depends heavily on how often you import. Get it wrong and you’re either paying for coverage you don’t need or scrambling to post a new bond every time a shipment arrives. Here’s how continuous and single-entry bonds ...

The Port of Charleston is one of the fastest-growing container gateways on the East Coast, and it has pulled a wave of importers to the Lowcountry with it. The math is simple: clear your goods at Charleston, put them in a warehouse 20 minutes from the terminal, and ship to 75% of the U.S. East ...

Both a Foreign Trade Zone and a bonded warehouse let importers defer, reduce, or in some cases eliminate duty on goods before they enter U.S. commerce. They solve a similar problem, but the mechanics are different enough that picking the wrong one leaves cash tied up that didn’t need to be. What a Foreign Trade ...

Most 3PLs can pick, pack, and ship your orders. Very few can legally clear those goods through U.S. Customs first. Customs brokerage requires a license from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the overwhelming majority of fulfillment providers do not hold one. If your brand imports its products, that means the typical “logistics partner” only ...

Every product that crosses a U.S. border needs a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code, and that ten-digit number determines the duty rate, whether the shipment needs extra paperwork, and how likely it is to get flagged for exam. Misclassify it and you either overpay duties for years without realizing it, or underpay and end up ...

In February 2025, the U.S. eliminated de minimis eligibility for shipments from China and Hong Kong, requiring formal customs entry, an importer of record, and full HTS documentation on packages that used to clear duty-free under the $800 threshold. That change hit ecommerce brands sourcing from China hardest, and de minimis policy has stayed a ...