Customs Documentation for Shipping to the United States

The Necessary Customs Documents for Shipping to the United States

These are the customs documents required by the freight forwarder for the importation procedure into the United States:

Clearly visible heading: Instruction Letter;

Exporter details;

Recipient's details in the United States;

Incoterm for the goods [INCOTERM];

Place and date of availability of goods for departure [the place where the freight forwarder will pick up the goods for shipping to America];

Actual place of departure (port or airport) This might also be a decision left to the freight forwarder;

Expected pickup date and location;

Shipment departure date (or “first available ship” or “first available flight”);

Place of delivery of goods in America. What is the exact address where the goods must be delivered;

Mode of transport: air freight or sea freight?

Transport means (with the ship name or flight number, if available);

Price of the goods shipping, terms, and conditions of payment;

Transport cost (for insurance purposes);

Goods value (for customs and insurance purposes);

Nature and description of the goods. This is the basis for calculating the import duties to the United States;

Customs tariff code for the goods (for customs purposes). This could also be information derived from consulting with the freight forwarder;

Warnings about the nature of the shipped goods (fragile, hazardous, etc.);

Nature of the packages (pallets, boxes, drums, sacks, containers, etc.);

Instructions regarding load placement (stowing, securing);

Agreement on the unit of measurement for freight charges (cubic meters, tons, or taxable kilos);

Any delivery constraints to the recipient (Cash On Delivery or Cash Against Documents);

Notify Party (person or company to notify that the goods are about to arrive at the destination);

Task (if any) of providing insurance with the indication of the risks to cover and the insurable value;

Provide the details of the insurance policy (if already arranged by the exporter);

Possible prohibition of delivering the goods at the destination against the presentation of a non-original Bill of Lading;

Possible prohibition of delivering the goods at the destination against a guarantee (in case of non-arrival or delayed arrival of the original Bill of Lading) unless authorized in writing by the exporter;

List of documents attached to the Instruction Letter;

Any special instructions related to the completion of the documents required in the Letter of Credit [if applicable].

We remind you that the freight forwarder handles both the transportation and the export customs operations in your country of origin, as well as the import customs operations in the United States.