INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
International Trade Law Articles
Customs classification, export controls, sanctions, and the compliance work that keeps cross-border business moving.
426 articles
CBP ACE: Auditing Your Import History
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is CBP’s online system of record for imports, and an importer can use it to pull and audit its own entry …
CBP Binding Rulings: Do You Need One & How
A CBP binding ruling is a written decision from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that tells you, in advance and with legal certainty, how your goods will be …
CBP Detention of Imports: The 30-Day Rule
A CBP detention is a temporary hold on imported merchandise while Customs decides whether the goods may enter — and by law it cannot drag on indefinitely. Under …
CBP Form 28: Responding to a Request for Information
CBP Form 28, the “Request for Information,” is a form U.S. Customs and Border Protection sends to an importer when the documents filed with an entry …
CBP Form 29 Notice of Action: How to Respond
A CBP Form 29, the Notice of Action, is U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s formal notice that it is changing — or proposing to change — something on …
CBP Form 4647: Notice to Mark or Redeliver
CBP Form 4647 is the “Notice to Mark and/or Notice to Redeliver” — the notice U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues when goods it already …
CBP Intellectual Property Penalties Explained
If you import goods bearing a counterfeit trademark, CBP can seize the goods, destroy them, and assess a civil fine of up to the price the merchandise would …
CBP IP Recordation: Protect Your Brand at Customs
CBP intellectual property recordation is the process of registering your federal trademark or copyright with U.S. Customs so its officers can detain and seize …
CBP Liquidated Damages: What They Are & Relief
CBP liquidated damages are claims Customs assesses when you break a condition of your customs bond — they are a contract remedy, not a penalty for fraud or …
CBP Penalties: Types, Process, and Defenses
A “CBP penalty” is one of several distinct enforcement actions U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses when an import violates customs law — and …
CBP Seized Your Tobacco as Drug Paraphernalia?
If CBP seized your imported pipes, water pipes, or smoking accessories as drug paraphernalia, the goods were detained under 21 U.S.C. § 863 — the federal …
CBP Seizures and Forfeitures: A Practical Guide
When CBP seizes your goods, you have a narrow window — usually 30 days from the seizure notice — to choose among four options, and the wrong choice can cost you …
Cosmetic, Drug, or Both? FDA Product Classification
Whether the FDA treats your product as a cosmetic, a drug, or both comes down to its intended use — not its ingredients, its packaging, or what you call it. …
Country of Origin Determinations: A US Guide
A country of origin determination identifies the country where an imported good was made for legal purposes — and it drives the goods’ marking, duty rate, …
Customs Classification: A Primer for Importers
Customs classification is the process of assigning every imported product a code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and that code controls the duty rate, the …
FDA Import Alerts: What Importers Must Know
An FDA Import Alert is a public notice telling FDA field staff to detain certain products on sight — without testing each shipment — because a product, …
FDA Import Enforcement: Detentions and Refusals
The FDA can hold any imported food, drug, device, or cosmetic at the border and refuse it entry if the product appears to violate U.S. law — the agency does not …
Foreign-Trade Zones: Duty Benefits and How to Apply
A foreign-trade zone (FTZ) is a secure area inside the United States that is legally treated as outside U.S. customs territory, so duties on goods admitted …
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS): A Plain-English Guide
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is the official list that assigns every imported product a numeric code and the duty rate tied to …
Importing into the United States: How It Works
To import into the United States, you become the “importer of record”: you classify your goods, post a customs bond, file an entry with U.S. Customs …
