When importing products from China, it is important to understand import duties, customs fees and clearance documents. As an importer, Chinese manufacturing is a good choice for many products that can be sold locally or online and reap huge profits. Tariffs depend on the products and commodities you import from China to the United States, which makes the entire international trade process for new importers seem complicated. This article will help you understand the tariffs on goods imported from China to the United States and how to check each product tariff. Let us delve into the import tax from China to the United States.
As a new importer, you must be aware that US Customs imposes tariffs on all imported goods valued at $800 or more. Values below $800 are tax-free. However, since June 30, 2018, the United States has increased the tariff on China’s 50 billion goods by 25%, which has increased the cost of American consumers.
This article will let you learn more about import tariffs and customs clearance issues.
Trade tension between China and the USA has escalated since Trump raised tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports and threatened to impose on another US$300 billion. Millions of people and companies with import and export business have been impacted due to the increased import duties.
How big is the real impact on your business line? Is your product hit with the additional 25% tariff? What’re the customs duty rate? How much will you pay? Can you still afford to import from China to the USA? You may have lots of similar or other questions struggling in your mind.
After reading this article, you’ll be able to measure the impact in figures, know what import taxes you need to pay, and how to calculate it on your own so that you can decide whether to continue sourcing from China or buying locally or elsewhere.
According to our experience, for small and medium-sized businesses, if you are not purchasing containers of goods at one time, the impact of increased tariffs may not be as big as you might think. Now let’s dive into below article to have a reality checking. you need to pay for imports from China to the USA?
- Under which condition you need to pay for imports from China to the USA?
- What is the US import tariff rate for imports from China to the USA?
- How to check the US tariff ?
1. Under which condition you need to pay for imports from China to the USA?
Basically, for any goods coming into the United States valued at or more than $800 are subject to import duties or customs duties. Import duties are the major part of import tax an importer has to pay to US customs. The rates of customs duties are either specific or on ad valorem basis of the value of the goods, dependent on the H.S code of the product and country of origin.
Since February 24, 2016, former U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, which will increase import tax exemption from 200 U.S. dollars to 800 U.S. dollars, The act was implemented by the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency on March 10, 2016. The amount of tax exemption means that the goods that meet the conditions are less than the stated dollar amount of USD 800, and can be exempted from making customs declaration without paying customs duties or taxes. This means that most goods shipments of less than 800 U.S. dollars will be exempt from customs clearance and import duties.
This move not only motivated the US consumers but also inspired a lot of e-commerce sellers to consider shipping with express delivery. However, the exemption rules are conditional and exceptional, and under the United States Customs regulations (U.s.customs regulation 19cfr10.151), the goods subject to this exemption need to meet the following requirements:
(1) The goods must be imported by the same person on the same day.
(2) Consolidated goods delivered to the same final consignee will be treated as one-ticket imported goods (ie, the same person importing several goods on the same day plus a total of more than $800 is not tax-deductible)
(3)Alcoholic beverages, alcohol-containing perfumes (unless the total fair retail value of the country of shipment of all goods does not exceed $5), cigars or cigarettes cannot be exempt from taxation.
If the Customs considers that the goods are one of several batches under a single order or contract and are shipped separately for the purpose of free entry (tax exemption) or to avoid compliance with any relevant laws and regulations, this situation cannot be exempted tax. Goods that are part of a tariff quota cannot be tax-free (for example, products that are tariff quotas cannot be exempt from taxation). Goods that are regulated if one or more of the cooperating government agencies require information are not exempt from taxation (for example, goods subject to FDA regulation are not exempt from taxation).
Even if you declare less than $800, US Customs still has the right to request a formal customs clearance. As long as Customs suspects that the low value of the shipment is to avoid compliance with certain relevant laws, the goods may be denied a tax exemption. Also, if you are declaring less than $800, but US Customs suspects that you have deliberately underreported and a re-evaluation of the goods is done, if the valuation is higher than $800, then it is still taxable.
There are other additional but relatively small import taxes and fees such as Federal Excise Tax for particular items such as alcohol, tobacco, etc, Merchandising Processing Fee (MPF), and Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF).
All imports both for informal entry and formal entry are subject to MPF fee, based on an ad valorem fee of 0.3464% of the goods’ value. But it has a fixed range from $26.22 to $508.70, indicating both the maximum and minimum fee you need to pay. If goods are shipped by sea, you’ll also need to pay HMF fee, an ad valorem fee of 0.125% of the value of the merchandise. HMF is not collected on shipment transported by air.
2. What is the US import tariff rate from China to the USA?
US tariffs are a problem that every Chinese-to-American express parcel cannot avoid. US airfreight and US shipping will have US tariffs, with a minimum of 30 USD and no limit. Goods value below 800USD is duty-free. Of course, there are also many customers who choose to use the US express channel to avoid tariffs.
(1) Tariffs for clothing products (cotton category: 16%).
Customers who have worked in the apparel industry know that the tariff classification of clothing is simply too much. It is possible to have clothing of the same style, different materials but the tariffs will be different. There are also gaps in the tariffs for men’s wear women’s wear and children’s wear, there are also gaps between formal wear and casual wear, and there are also gaps before the different tariffs on apparel fabrics.
(2) LED product tariffs (LED lights: 3.9%).
LEDs may not be as diverse as the classification tariffs for clothing products. The tariffs on LED lamps are generally 3.9%, but the tariffs on LEDs are different from the tariffs on LED lamps.
(3) Tariffs for furniture products (furniture: 1%).
Furniture is also a relatively large proportion of China’s exports to the United States. The tariffs on furniture products are, generally around 1%. However, sometimes there are products related to anti-dumping in the furniture, anti-dumping duties will be as high as 227%, such as the bedroom bed.
(4) Tariffs for solar products (anti-dumping).
At present, solar energy products are in the anti-dumping stage in the United States, so many customers who export such products are discouraged from seeing this high anti-dumping tariff.
3.How to check the US tariff?
1. The US tariffs are very detailed. Open the US import tariff website: https://hts.usitc.gov/. Enter the product name After entering the website, then click “Search” or enter the first 4 digits of the HS code or 6 digits.
2. Enter your product name to view the import tariff (Rates of Duty)
What are the meanings of 1 and 2 of the US import tariffs?
- The “General” in Tariff 1 is the tariff from most of the world’s imported products (Chinese products apply this tariff rate)
- The “Special” in Tariff 1 refers to tariffs with the United States from imports from countries with relevant FTA countries.
- Tariff 2 applies to tariffs on imports from special countries that have no trade relationship with the United States (Cuba and North Korea)