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China → United States clearance guide

Overview

  • · De minimis is suspended indefinitely: non-postal modes since 2026-06-24, international mail since 2026-07-24. The US$800 duty-free entry no longer exists.
  • · No federal VAT or GST. State sales or use tax is a separate matter handled after import, not at the border.
  • · US$2,500 separates informal from formal entry. Mail shipments up to US$2,500 in HTSUS chapters 1-97 may use the new postal informal entry process, with duty due by the 7th day of the month following arrival.
  • · The importer of record may self-file in ACE, but formal entries require a customs bond, and ocean cargo also requires an Importer Security Filing (ISF 10+2) at least 24 hours before loading.
  • · The Section 122 surcharge ended on 2026-07-24, and a Section 301 forced-labour action covering 60 economies took effect the same day. Additional duties appear as HTSUS Chapter 99 lines, so check what is in force on your entry date.

Procedure

China export side

An exporter must first complete customs registration as a consignee or consignor of imported and exported goods through the China International Trade Single Window. The separate foreign trade operator registration was abolished with the 2022 amendment to the Foreign Trade Law and has not been required since 2022-12-30. The export goods declaration may be filed by the consignor directly or by an entrusted registered customs broker.

Most goods carry no export duty. Art. 10 of the Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China (in force 2024-12-01) provides for an export rate on export duty and allows provisional rates for defined periods, but only a short list in the annually published Import and Export Tariff actually carries one. Exported goods are zero-rated for VAT under art. 10(4) of the Value-Added Tax Law (in force 2026-01-01), unless the State Council provides otherwise, and qualifying exporters can claim an export refund at the rate published for the commodity code.

Export controls rest on the Export Control Law and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items (State Council Decree 792, promulgated 2024-10-19 and in force 2024-12-01). Art. 4 of those Regulations makes the State Council's commerce department (MOFCOM) the responsible authority; art. 11 requires MOFCOM to draw up, adjust and publish the dual-use export control list; and art. 15 provides three licence forms — individual licence, general licence and registration filing — with a 45-working-day review period. Listed items need a dual-use item and technology export licence, and MOFCOM and GACC publish a Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licensing each year (the 2026 edition was published on 2025-12-31 as Announcement 2025 No. 91 and applies from 2026-01-01). The regulatory condition code attached to the commodity code is the starting point for working out whether a licence, inspection or quarantine applies.

Goods on the statutory inspection catalogue must undergo customs inspection and quarantine before export. Where the buyer wants a preferential rate at destination, customs or the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) issues the corresponding certificate of origin, for example under RCEP or the Korea-China FTA, or an ECFA certificate of origin for early harvest goods going to Taiwan.

United States import side

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) clears imports through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Goods are classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and duty is generally assessed on the transaction value, that is, the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the United States.

Duty-free de minimis entry is no longer available. Executive Order 14324 ended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries on 2025-08-29, and CBP interim final rules published on 2026-06-24 made that suspension indefinite: immediately for goods arriving by every mode other than the international postal network, and from 2026-07-24 for international mail. Shipments that would previously have been released from the manifest now require a formal entry or an informal entry (Entry Type 11), and the US$2,500 line between informal and formal entry still applies. Two narrow exemptions survive under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(A) and (B): bona fide gifts of US$100 or less, and accompanied personal or household articles of US$200 or less.

There is no federal VAT or GST in the United States. State sales or use tax may become due on a later sale, but customs does not collect it at the border. Besides duty, CBP collects the merchandise processing fee and, on ocean cargo, the harbor maintenance fee.

Additional duties often sit on top of the ordinary HTSUS rate through Chapter 99 subheadings. The Supreme Court invalidated tariffs imposed under IEEPA on 2026-02-20 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, and Proclamation 11012 of 2026-02-24 then imposed a 10 percent surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That surcharge terminated at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 2026-07-24 by the terms of the proclamation itself, and no extension has been published. From the same date, 2026-07-24, a Section 301 action on forced labour took effect covering 60 economies, mostly at 10 or 12.5 percent, with Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the EU and Switzerland charged net of the MFN rate; the annexes carry exclusions. Section 232 measures remain in force. Because this layer changes frequently, the rate that matters is the one in force on the entry date; the HTSUS Chapter 99 notes and CBP's CSMS messages are where it is published.

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Sources: Federal Register: Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network · Federal Register: Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process · Federal Register: Notice of Implementation of Executive Order 14324, Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries · CBP Form 7501, Entry Summary (revision 02/26) · CBP: Importer Security Filing (10+2) · Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States · Supreme Court of the United States: Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (No. 24-1287) · FDA: Registration and Listing of Cosmetic Product Facilities and Products · Federal Register: Proclamation 11012, Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge (Section 122; terminated 2026-07-24) · Federal Register: Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations — forced labour (60 economies, effective 2026-07-24) · Federal Register: Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027 (CBP) · eCFR: 19 CFR 141.5 — time limit for entry (15 calendar days after landing) · China International Trade Single Window · GACC online service guide: enterprise registration and declaration · General Administration of Customs of China · Ministry of Commerce of China · State Taxation Administration: export VAT refund · China Council for the Promotion of International Trade · State Council: Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items (State Council Decree 792, in force 2024-12-01) · MOFCOM: 2026 Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licensing (MOFCOM/GACC Announcement 2025 No. 91) · State Council Gazette: Provisions on the Declaration of Import and Export Goods (GACC Decree 277, in force 2025-05-01) · Ministry of Finance, Tariff Department: Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China (in force 2024-12-01) · China MOJ — Regulations for the Implementation of the Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law (State Council Order 447, rev. 2013), Art. 3 on the inspection catalogue