January 1, 2019 was an exciting holiday in the United States. We’re not talking about New Years -- January 1st marked Public Domain Day, where published and copyrighted works entered the public domain in America for the first time in over 20 years. This little-understood piece of copyright law means [...]
‘Twas the night before Christmas and people all across the United States were still stirring — several hundred decibels louder than a mouse — to get all of their traditional holiday goods across the U.S. border in time for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Though we’re already well into [...]
When you think importing, what comes to mind? We’re willing to bet you said cross-border shopping, or commercial importing, or even moving vehicles around... but what about importing personal goods that belong to someone else? Whether you’re helping someone move or bringing them a gift, you may someday run into [...]
Foreign companies that export their goods worldwide are, in many cases, the lifeblood of their counterparts in the United States. These suppliers allow American companies to operate, make sales, and generate revenues to grow their businesses. Whether you deal specifically in importation or you’re reliant upon selling of items from [...]
It’s not uncommon for importers to have items be detained for physical examination by US customs agents. While undoubtedly frustrating, at least one can take comfort in knowing their goods are still en route and there is conceivably a light at the end of the tunnel. But what about knowing [...]
With recent stories of NAFTA’s renegotiation to form the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as well as an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China dominating headlines in the past few months, the global trade landscape appears to be in a highly contentious period. Though trade wars are typically cause [...]
Stories about strange bans at borders around the world are abundant online. Did you know that prison-made goods are banned from import into Canada? Or that musical cards are a big no for import into Saudi Arabia? How about the curious case of Nigeria, who has banned the importation of [...]
While they may be one of the more popular items to import into the States, cigarettes and tobacco products are not exempt from the strict importation laws of the US customs border. Whether you’re bringing back some discounted cigarettes from your vacation abroad for personal use or you’re a serious [...]
For as long as the U.S. has been a country, there have been tariffs -- but the motivation behind the tariffs was a little different back then from what you see now. The country was in its infancy, so when the U.S. Congress passed the tariff act in 1790 to [...]
When it comes to importing, there are dozens of things that need to be considered, like documentation, tariff codes, and tax exemptions -- to name a few. But there are two aspects in particular that are often considered a top priority: the country of origin and the rules of origin. [...]
