helptariff
English

Taiwan → 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

Taiwan export side

Taiwanese exports are also handled by the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The export declaration is filed electronically through the Single Window and is assigned the same clearance channels as imports — C1 (release, no document or goods check), C2 (document review) and C3 (physical examination). General goods carry no export duty, but the trade promotion service fee applies at 0.04% (four per ten thousand) of the FOB value; it is not collected where the amount payable is NT$100 or less.

Exporting in a company's own name means registering as an importer/exporter with the International Trade Administration first. Under the Regulations Governing Registration of Exporters and Importers, made under art. 9(5) of the Foreign Trade Act, art. 2 provides that a company or firm may apply to register unless a law or regulation prohibits or restricts it, and art. 3 requires the English-name pre-check and the registration application to be filed by electronic data transmission (paper, fax or e-mail are allowed if the system is down). Without registration, an exporter can ship through an already-registered trader or a customs broker, but the exporter of record on the declaration is then a different party.

Whether goods are controlled is read from the export regulation column of the commodity classification table. Strategic high-tech commodities (SHTC) need an export permit from the International Trade Administration; certain agricultural, fishery and livestock products need quarantine from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, and goods on the export inspection list must be presented to the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection.

The release record of the export declaration is what supports the zero-rated business tax return and any drawback of tax on raw materials. If the buyer wants a preferential rate at destination, the exporter supplies the corresponding certificate of origin: goods on the ECFA early harvest list going to mainland China use an ECFA certificate of origin, while Taiwan has no free trade agreement with Korea or the United States.

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.

Priority categories on this lane

Pick an HS code

Search again

Other lanes

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) · Customs-Port-Trade Single Window · Customs Administration: import and export regulations for goods · International Trade Administration: commodity classification system notes · International Trade Administration · Ministry of Finance: updated ECFA early harvest list tariff concordance · Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection · International Trade Administration: trade promotion service fee (rate, basis and statutory authority) · MOEA law system: scope of exemptions from the trade promotion service fee (not collected below NT$100) · MOEA law system: Regulations Governing Registration of Exporters and Importers · MOF law system: rules for simplified clearance of air express consignments (C1, C2 and C3 channels) · China MOF — Customs Tariff Commission Announcement 2023 No. 9 (ECFA concessions suspended on 12 tariff lines) · China MOF — Customs Tariff Commission Announcement 2024 No. 4 (second batch, ECFA concessions suspended on 134 tariff lines)