How to import from China to the US, step by step

The steps

1. Check that the goods can enter at all. For goods from China, the first question is forced labor. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, CBP enforces a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR, or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List, are prohibited from U.S. importation^[1]. Goods caught by it can be detained, and it is the importer who has to rebut the presumption, so before you place the order, ask in writing where the materials and parts come from, down to raw materials such as cotton, and keep the answers with your records. Product safety rules apply too, and the guide to manufacturing a product covers them.
2. Classify the product and add up the duty layers. Find the product's line in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and have your customs broker confirm it from your spec. For goods of China, the import duty is built in layers that add together: the general rate for the line; a Section 301 duty if the line is on one of the China product lists, for example 25%^[2] on one list and 7.5%^[3] on another; and a newer Section 301 action, taken over trading partners' failure to ban imports made with forced labor, which imposes tariffs on all products of the investigated economy, with certain exemptions^[4], and charges goods of China 12.5%^[5]. Some products carry other additional duties as well, so ask your broker to list every heading that applies to your line.
3. Agree the shipping terms and the paperwork. Ask for FOB at a named port of shipment, or FCA at a named place if the goods go into a container at a terminal. Under FOB, the seller is responsible for completing the export formalities^[6] on the Chinese side. Agree the commercial invoice, the packing list and the carton marks before production ends. Unless an exception applies, every article, or its container where the rules allow, must be marked with the English name of the country of origin^[7], so put "Made in China" in the spec.
4. Get an importer number and a customs bond. CBP identifies you through CBP Form 5106, Create/Update Importer Identity Form^[8], filed with your first formal entry and using the Internal Revenue Service employer identification number^[8] where you have one. Goods are not released from customs until a single entry or continuous bond^[9] is on file. A single transaction bond secures a single transaction or activity^[10]. A continuous bond secures one or more transactions or activities over a one-year period, is renewed automatically on the anniversary of the effective date of the bond^[10], and its minimum is $50,000 or 10% of the total estimated duties, taxes, and fees in the previous 12-month period, whichever is greater^[10]. Either kind is executed by an approved corporate surety or secured by a cash deposit, so ask your broker how it will provide yours.
5. Book the freight and file the security filing. On FOB or FCA terms the main carriage is yours, and a freight forwarder is one way to book it. For ocean cargo, the importer security filing is due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port^[11], and it names the manufacturer or supplier, so get those details from the seller early. A missed or wrong filing can cost $5,000 for each violation^[12] in liquidated damages under your bond. When the goods sail, check the bill of lading against your packing list.
6. Enter the goods and pay the duty. Goods must be entered within 15 calendar days after landing^[13], and the entry summary goes in, with the estimated duties, within 10 working days after the time of entry^[14]. Informal entry covers shipments up to $2,500^[15], but not articles valued in excess of $250 classified in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV^[15], and the Section 301 duties on goods of China sit in subchapter III of chapter 99^[16]. So a commercial order of Chinese goods above that small threshold goes in on a formal entry, which most importers have a licensed customs broker file. Small parcels get no exemption either: the de minimis exemption is suspended for merchandise valued at $800 or less arriving via all modes^[17].
7. Keep the records. Keep the invoice, packing list, bill of lading, entry papers and your forced-labor answers. Customs records must be kept for 5 years from the date of entry^[18].

What the duty layers add up to

Order: 1,000 knit sweatshirts of polyester, HTS subheading 6110.30.30, FOB Ningbo at $8.00 each. The subheading is one of the subheadings enumerated for heading 9903.88.15^[16], so the list duty applies.

One order of sweatshirts landed from China

Line	Amount
Goods, FOB value	$8,000.00
General duty at 32%[19]	$2,560.00
Section 301 list duty at 7.5%[3]	$600.00
Section 301 forced-labor action at 12.5%[5]	$1,000.00
Merchandise processing fee at 0.3464%[20] is $27.71, so the minimum of $34.58 per entry from October 1, 2026[21] applies	$34.58
Harbor maintenance fee at 0.125%[22]	$10.00
Ocean freight and cargo insurance to Los Angeles	$1,150.00
Customs broker, bond, security filing and port charges	$520.00
Trucking to your warehouse	$350.00
Landed cost	$14,224.58
Landed cost per unit	$14.22

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

On this line the three duty layers come to more than half of the FOB value, which is why a factory price from China has to be compared on landed cost, not on the unit price. The import duty and landed cost guide runs the same kind of order from Vietnam, India and Mexico. Knit sweatshirts are one of the product types that clothing manufacturers in China make, but the steps are the same for any product.

Where China imports go wrong

• Duties from an old calculator. The tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are no longer in effect^[23], according to CBP. A calculator or blog post that still adds them overstates your duty, and the schedule itself may still print their headings, so check any additional duty against CBP's list of actions no longer in effect and with your broker.
• The factory's code instead of yours. A code on the factory's export paperwork was chosen for China's customs, not for the US schedule. Have your broker classify the product from your spec.
• A late security filing. The deadline falls before the goods are loaded at origin, not when they arrive, so the forwarder and the seller have to share the details in time.
• No answer on materials. If CBP detains goods on forced-labor grounds, the importer has to show where the inputs came from. Ask before you order, not after the goods are held.
• Missing origin marks. The country of origin mark is a legal requirement, not a label choice. Put it in the spec and check it in the pre-shipment photos.

Getting matched with manufacturers in China

A China sourcing agent acts for you. We do not: we introduce you to manufacturers in China that fit your request, name each one, and leave the quote, the contract and the order to you and the manufacturer. If none fits, we tell you. It is free for brands. Every step above stays yours or your broker's, from the Incoterms rule you agree with the manufacturer to the security filing, the entry and the duty.

The forced-labor check in the first step stays with you too. Our listing rules leave companies on the UFLPA Entity List out of our introductions, but we do not check where a factory's materials or parts come from, or any document it gives you. As the importer, you answer to CBP for how the goods were made, so ask the manufacturer for the supply chain documents before you order, not after the goods are held.