Your Cargo

Doesn't Clear

Itself.

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule contains more than 1,220 four-digit headings and a further 17,000 subheadings beneath them. Your product sits in exactly one of them. An incorrect HTS code — even by a single digit — is the difference between a 2.5% duty rate and a 25% Section 301 tariff, between smooth entry and a hold that idles your container at $150 per day while we sort out CBP's confusion about whether your product is a "machine part" or an "instrument."

We classify based on the actual composition and function of your goods, cross-referenced against CBP ruling databases and prior binding rulings for comparable merchandise. We do not guess. We document.

Transaction value — the price paid or payable — is the starting point, not the ending point. Assists, royalties, packing costs, and proceeds of resale can all be dutiable additions that importers routinely omit. Related-party transactions receive additional scrutiny: CBP will examine whether the price was influenced by the relationship and may apply deductive or computed value methodologies if transaction value cannot be sustained.

We prepare valuation analyses that anticipate CF-28 inquiries before they arrive. When CBP issues a Request for Information, our response is already drafted. We do not scramble.

The average U.S. import duty is 2.5%. That number is almost meaningless to your actual landed cost. The Merchandise Processing Fee adds 0.3464% (minimum $31.67, maximum $614.35). The Harbor Maintenance Fee adds 0.125% on ocean freight. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods add 7.5% to 25% on top of the base rate. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties can add hundreds of percentage points for specific product categories.

We calculate landed cost before the shipment moves. Not after it arrives and the invoice surprises your accounts payable team.

Every line of an Entry Summary is a statement made under penalty of law. The importer of record — not the broker, not the freight forwarder — bears ultimate legal responsibility for the accuracy of each declaration. We file through the Automated Commercial Environment using Electronic Data Interchange, with pre-arrival filing submitted five business days before vessel arrival at every port where we have Remote Location Filing authority.

We review every document before transmission. Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificates of origin, any applicable permits or licenses. Nothing enters ACE until we are satisfied it will survive a CF-28.

Examination selection is not random. It is algorithmic, informed by importer history, commodity risk profiles, country of origin flags, and ACE targeting rules. Importers without C-TPAT certification face 50% higher examination rates. A single prior violation can flag every subsequent entry for years.

When CBP issues a CF-28 Request for Information, the response window is 20 to 30 days. The quality of that response determines whether the examination becomes a routine document review or escalates to a formal penalty action. We have responded to CF-28s covering HTS classification, valuation methodology, origin claims, and free trade agreement eligibility. We know what CBP is looking for because we read the same regulations they enforce.

CBP Release — the moment your goods are legally free to move in U.S. commerce — takes an average of 1 to 5 days for ocean freight with complete, accurate documentation. Air freight with proper preparation clears in 1 to 2 days. Importers who prepare HTS classifications and valuation support in advance of shipment consistently achieve release times 60% faster than those who wait until arrival.

After release, we archive every document against the five-year record-keeping requirement. We monitor for post-entry CBP audits and reconciliation notices. We track duty drawback opportunities. The entry is closed. The relationship is not.