Exporting to the USA and Made in USA
Advisory support for companies exporting to the United States on U.S. customs, HTSUS classification, duties, origin, Made in USA, customs value and trade compliance.
USA, Customs & Made in USA
HTSUS, CBP, Section 232, AD/CVD, origin, Made in USA and customs value assessed as one integrated transaction.
Preparing exports to the United States
A U.S. import transaction requires consistency across customs classification, origin, commercial documentation, Incoterms, the importer of record and U.S. Customs and Border Protection requirements. A preventive review helps reduce customs delays, documentary requests, unexpected costs and disputes.
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- country of origin and origin marking
- Incoterms and allocation of responsibilities
- Importer of Record and customs broker
- customs entry and release documentation
US HTS, HTSUS and U.S. Customs
U.S. classification must be assessed under the HTSUS. The classification can determine ordinary customs duty, additional tariffs, antidumping or countervailing measures and other import requirements.
- US HTS / HTSUS
- CBP – U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- ACE – Automated Commercial Environment
- CBP Form 7501 / Entry Summary
- Importer of Record – IOR
GATT, WTO and tariff treatment
The GATT/WTO framework remains relevant to principles such as most-favoured-nation treatment, tariff concessions, national treatment, customs valuation and trade-remedy disciplines. For U.S. imports, ordinary duty should be assessed separately from any additional trade measures that may apply to the product or its origin.
Section 232 duties
For products affected by Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the analysis should precisely consider HTSUS classification, material composition, derivative-product status, the relevant content and the measure in force at the time of importation. This is particularly important for steel, aluminium and derivative products.
- Section 232 steel
- Section 232 aluminum
- steel derivative products
- aluminum derivative products
- HTSUS lines subject to additional duties
- verification of relevant content and applicable calculation basis
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties – AD/CVD
Before export, it is important to determine whether a product and country of origin fall within the scope of an antidumping or countervailing duty order. Relevant factors may include the scope wording, HTSUS classification, technical characteristics, manufacturer and exporter.
- antidumping duty – AD
- countervailing duty – CVD
- AD/CVD orders
- scope analysis
- cash deposit rate
- manufacturer and exporter review
Made in USA: origin, marking and U.S. origin claims
U.S. rules distinguish between country of origin for customs purposes and Made in USA as a commercial origin claim. CBP applies country-of-origin and substantial-transformation principles for imported goods, while the FTC applies the all or virtually all standard to unqualified Made in USA claims.
- Made in USA and U.S. origin claims
- all or virtually all standard
- final assembly or processing in the USA
- significant processing and negligible foreign content
- qualified and unqualified Made in USA claims
- country of origin marking
- substantial transformation: name, character or use
- Made in USA with imported components / Assembled in USA
Customs Value and U.S. valuation principles
Customs value is a core element of U.S. import compliance. The primary method is transaction value, based on the price actually paid or payable for merchandise sold for exportation to the United States, with statutory additions where applicable.
- transaction value and price actually paid or payable
- packing costs
- selling commissions
- assists and tooling supplied by the buyer
- royalties and license fees
- proceeds of subsequent resale
- related-party transactions and circumstances of sale
- transfer pricing and post-import adjustments
- transaction value of identical or similar merchandise
- deductive value, computed value and fallback method
AEO C Trades support for the U.S. market
- preliminary review of U.S. export transactions
- US HTS / HTSUS classification
- duties and trade remedies
- Section 232 and derivative products
- antidumping and countervailing duties
- Made in USA, country of origin and substantial transformation
- customs value and transaction value
- Importer of Record, CBP, ACE and Form 7501
- documentary coordination with the customer, U.S. importer and customs broker
