Seven Things You Need to Know When Importing Products from China to the U.S.

1. Service Standards for U.S. Cargo

   Goods destined for the United States require meticulous service, and the services after arrival at the port are also very important. If no customs brokerage proceeds within 15 days after the goods arrive at the port, the goods will enter the G.O. warehouse, and the fee standards of the G.O. warehouse are very high.

2. Agency Qualification Review

   For the U.S. route, besides the shipping companies, all legitimate freight forwarders engaged in the U.S. line must own a freight forwarding company registered in the U.S. (FMC) and have an official NVOCC code, otherwise, they cannot receive corresponding legal protection if any problems occur during the transportation in the U.S. Not all first-level freight forwarders are FMC registered members, so it is crucial to confirm in advance.

3. Detailed Regulations

   1. Confirming the specific transportation destination in U.S. trade is very important, as many clients have different warehouses all over the U.S., and it is crucial to finally confirm their FINAL DESTINATION during transportation. Especially since there are many places with the same name in the U.S., like Washington, which has four or five, it is very likely to send the wrong goods if the client does not have the week name and zip code. The vast land and sparse population in the U.S. mean that trailer fees are often more than a thousand dollars, so it is most critical to clarify and allocate responsibilities with the client.
   2. Large U.S. customers have many requirements for logistics fee services provided by suppliers. A. Customers often have sectional requirements for loading containers, which is especially important for goods sold to foreign supermarkets (such as the order of placement, quantity requirements, and documents included in the container). B. Deliver on time as per customer requirements. It is crucial to track the dynamics of the container as many foreign clients will require the goods to arrive at the port before a specific time (SHIPPING PERIOD), and delays by the factory may cause substantial fines abroad. Tracking the logistics goods is also very key. C. Provide accurate and timely documents for customs clearance abroad, generally speaking, foreign customs clearance can be done 7 days before the ship arrives, to avoid possible DETENTION and DEMURRAGE, many times it is often because of the delay of documents that causes foreign detention fees.
   3. Port overdue pickup fees and demurrage charges: The company charges them, and for large customers, more free use dates can be given. Port demurrage fees: Charged by the shipping company’s terminal, and they vary from one terminal to another.

4. Freight Rates

   All freight forwarding companies on the U.S. line use contracted prices, but not every freight forwarding company has the price of the U.S. line; only those with strong capabilities can sign the U.S. line prices directly with various shipping companies. Because there is an organization in the United States called FMC, its role is to adjust the transportation prices of all shipping companies in the United States to protect the interests of American customers.

5. Weight Limitations

   Here, the weight limit = the weight of the goods + the weight of the container. The requirements for the weight of goods to the U.S. line are very strict, mainly affected by the road weight limit to inland points in the U.S., typically small containers 17.3 tons, and tall high containers 19.5 tons. However, different ports have different weight limits, and if it is necessary to transport overweight goods to inland points in the U.S. as per customer requirements, there are generally three ways to handle it:

   1. Under-declare booking data, customs data, and manifest data to make the weight acceptable for shipment. Disadvantage: If checked and weighed on U.S. roads, there could be heavy penalties.
   2. Offload at the base port, then redistribute and transport the overweight part separately. Disadvantage: If the inland point for transfer is far, the cost is high.
   3. Some shipping companies can transfer directly from the base port terminal to the inland point by rail in the U.S., which can reach the inland point. If it needs to be delivered to the door point, it can be transported locally with a three-axle heavy chassis, and this part of the trailer fee is about 30% more expensive than the general trailer fee. Difficulty: Finding such a shipping company, inquiring about the inland point with this service, and finally having a good local agent to arrange the transfer of the overweight trailer. Generally, the first method is not recommended. Due to regulatory issues, there is a relatively high chance of being checked and weighed on U.S. roads, and taking chances might lead to more loss than gain.

6. Customs Clearance Rules

   1. U.S. Customs receives AMS declaration data from the exporting country after the ship departs.
   2. Local freight forwarding companies or customs brokers in the U.S. must receive the necessary import documents and arrival notices from the shipping company one week before the ship arrives.
   3. Apply for import customs declaration and inspection with U.S. Customs, and submit documents to the destination port shipping company to request cargo release.
   4. Provide the container release proof to the consignee’s trucking company or have it transported to the designated warehouse by the local agent.
   5. In the TO DOOR situation, the operation process of delivering goods must be done when the consignee is ready. The trucking company only provides two hours of loading and unloading time at the warehouse, with additional hours charged. Door delivery must not exceed the U.S. road weight limit.

7. Import Documentation Requirements

   The global H.S. CODE is uniform, but to confirm the taxes and fees abroad, the most accurate product name description must be provided. The determination of tariffs in the United States is one of the most troublesome matters in the world: if there are DDP customers, the most accurate product name and H.S. CODE must be provided, and customers who receive shoes need to send sample shoes abroad for confirmation.

The ocean shipping procedure of U.S. imports bottle jar from China

In cross-border trade, there will be imports and exports of goods. American importers who want to import Chinese goods into the United States have to arrange international transportation.

Transnational transportation:

Air or sea transportation can be arranged. This depends on the quantity and weight of the goods. The sea transportation cycle is long, but the transportation price is relatively low. The air transportation cycle is short, but the price is more expensive. It should be selected according to different needs.

Container introduction: International ocean shipment is carried out through containers, which are generally divided into three types of containers: 20GP, 40GP, and 40HQ. The space they hold is also different, 20gp can hold 28cbm of goods, 40gp can hold 58cbm of goods, and 40hq can hold 65cbm of goods. If goods capacity is less than 20cbm, you can choose to ship with friends who have common needs; the cost can be understood as the AA shared type, which is what we usually call shipped out in bulk.

So if you want to import a batch of goods from China to the United States, you need to understand what processes, what qualifications are required, and what you need to pay attention to.

Next, I will tell you about the knowledge:

1. Confirm the trade terms and US importers’ receipts

The shipper firstly confirms the purchased goods, confirms the trade contract with the Chinese supplier and confirms what the trade terms are. Common trade terms are EXW and FOB.

EXW means that the Chinese factory only takes care of the delivery and does not arrange the ocean transportation. The consignee needs to arrange the import transportation and customs declaration,

FOB means that the Chinese factory will deliver the goods to the warehouse in China designated by the American importer, and the domestic consignee’s freight forwarder will arrange vessel booking and custom application.

2. Declaring ISF and AMS

What is ISF?

ISF declaration is the abbreviation of Importer Security Filing, namely “import security declaration”, also called anti-terrorism declaration. It is a requirement of the U.S. Customs for U.S. importers. This is a thing created by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to strengthen U.S. security after the “911 incident”. This is unique to the U.S. A declaration whose purpose is to improve safety supervision.

ISF declaration method: ISF declaration can be declared by the seller or the buyer. If the buyer declares on behalf of the buyer, then the buyer needs to declare through the freight forwarder, and the consignee needs to sign the POA authorization letter with the US agent of the freight forwarder. The freight forwarder will send the US agent information to the consignee, and will also notify the agent that it will also actively contact the consignee, and only after the POA is signed, the goods can be shipped from the port of departure.

ISF penalty: a fine of five thousand US dollars normally.

ISF declaration time limit: The electronic declaration data must be sent to the U.S. customs through the AMS or ABI system 24 hours before the goods are loaded on the ship. In terms of ISF declaration operations, importers can entrust their trusted overseas agents to declare on their behalf.

AMS declaration 

AMS is the abbreviation of the American Warehouse Receipt System.

During the transaction process, they need to be reported to the U.S. Customs through the AMS system.

The simple distinction is: AMS declarations are mainly the information in the bill of lading, and freight forwarders are more controllable during declarations.

The ISF declaration is mainly an entity in the supply chain. Part of the information is in the buyer and part of the information is in the seller, so the buyer usually declares.

3. The import operation process is detailed as follows: 　　

1). Obtain the necessary documents. 　　

The shipper provides the bill of lading, invoice and packing list of the goods of foreign customers, and if necessary, a non-wood packaging certificate or fumigation certificate is required. Provide import documents including contract (general trade) to freight forwarder after receipt.

2). Document exchanges 　　

Freight forwarder checks out the cargo carrier, shipping agent and place of document exchanges. And take the bill of lading to the shipping company to exchange the bill of lading. then contact the station and confirm the cost of carrying the container, the cost of removing the container, the cost of loading, and the return fee.　　

3). import commodity inspection 　　

Through the customs commodity code book can confirm whether the goods need commodity inspection. Imported goods that need to be inspected in advance must go to the Commodity Inspection Bureau for commodity inspection. Commodity inspection also needs to be carried out as soon as possible, generally after the commodity inspection.

4). Import customs clearance 　　

Forwarders make correct declaration data based on the customs declaration data provided by the shipper and the container number and seal provided by the yard or trailer. The declaration materials include: invoice, packing list, bill of lading returned from shipping company, customs declaration letter of attorney, import goods declaration form, commodity inspection, animal and plant inspection, etc.　　

5). Clearance by customs 　　

Hand over the duty payment slip to the freight forwarder, and the freight forwarder will contact the customs for clearance. That is, one time release.

6). Picking up the container 　　

After completing the deposit with the documents and materials and authorized by the shipping agent management department, go to the import container post to go through the procedures for picking up the container, receive the container equipment handover form, and check whether the content is correct. After the consignee has unpacked the imported goods, the empty container will be returned to the return location. After the empty container is returned to the yard, the consignee must promptly present the pledge voucher to go to the container management department to settle the container fee.　　

7). Delivery 　　

The freight forwarder or the consignee should contact the trailer to pick up the goods at the shipping agency’s wharf and station with the documents and information. The mortgager goes to the container management department to handle the container mortgage settlement procedures.

Founded in 2011, Canvard Packaging has 10 years of export experience and can assist customers in safely completing international transportation processes.

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Open new bottle mould or buy current bottle mould design?

I believe that long-term customers who order cosmetic packaging have learned that many bottle packaging in this industry is standardized. Many products have the same or similar styles. And most customers are willing to choose these standardized plastic bottles to contain their cosmetics.

So is it necessary for customers to design their own styles, and to open a mold separately?

The following two points are factors for customers to consider.

On the one hand, cost, opening molds requires paying extra mold fees. The complexity of the mold, the number of cavities, and the product design style will affect the mold fees. If your annual purchase volume is not large and does not exceed 100,000, we do not recommend customers to open a new mold, because the annual product sales are too small, the mold costs are not worthwhile.

On the other hand, time, it takes a certain amount of time to develop the mold, which depends on the complexity of the mold you need to open and the number of molds. The more complex, the longer the mold development time, because mold molding takes time, and mold debugging also will take some time, so the time cost is very large, ranging from one or two months to more than a few months. Ordinary companies cannot afford such time cost, and would rather choose some of the existing molds in our factory.

Therefore, whether to develop a new mold requires careful consideration. Keep your costs to a minimum. Generally, big companies choose new molds because their annual purchases are very large. Opening molds can make them have their own company logo packaging which is more conducive to promotion in the market and increase customer recognition. Moreover, the existing molds are all mature molds, and the mold performance is stable, and no problems will occur in use. A new mold may have new problems, especially for plastic bottles with your unique and irregular shapes.

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Important things you need to know before buying plastic packaging

Some people may be new to the cosmetics industry, so they do n’t know much about cosmetics packaging, leading to hesitation in choosing cosmetics packaging, or even choosing a wrong packaging.

Below I will briefly analyze a few things you need to know before buying plastic packaging.

First, you need to understand the material of plastic packaging bottles, because different materials have different properties. For example, if you want your product to be in a plastic bottle, it can be directly seen by consumers. At this time, we recommend that you choose a plastic bottle made of PET, because the PET material itself is highly transparent, and the price is relatively cheaper than acrylic and PS material. You cannot choose PP or PE bottle, because the PP and PE materials themselves are not completely transparent, and consumers cannot clearly see the contents of the plastic bottles.

Second, you need to know what you want to contain in a plastic bottle? If you buy plastic bottles for lotions, you can choose bottles with lotion pump heads. If your product positioning is high-end, you can choose airless pump bottles and acrylic bottles to highlight your product quality. But if you want to fill facial cleanser or skin care lotion, you can choose a small and easy-to-carry plastic soft tube package, because the tube only needs to be squeezed lightly, and the price is very affordable. Or if you want to pack a very sticky cream-like product, we recommend that you buy a cream jar, because cream jars are generally filled with high consistency products, which is convenient and cheap. If it is a foam product, we recommend you to buy a foam bottle.

Third, the compatibility of product contents. Some cosmetic ingredients cannot be exposed to light to prevent volatilization. This is why you need to buy non-transparent and highly protective plastic bottles, such as airless pump bottles and acrylic bottles. Or, if your skin care ingredients are corrosive, you should use some materials with strong barrier properties. The so-called barrier plastic bottle refers to the use of a special processing technology (or combined with a special material at the same time), so that this kind of plastic bottle has the function of effectively blocking the penetration of organic solvents in emulsifiable concentrate pesticides, while retaining the plastic bottle itself is a special plastic bottle with excellent properties such as light weight, many variations (various shapes), and non-fragility.

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Methods to wipe off the silk screen text on the plastic bottle

First you need to know the material of the plastic bottle, whether you use solvent ink or UV ink.

If you use solvent-based inks (commonly referred to as ordinary inks) PET, PVC, PC, PS, these materials require special solvents to wipe off, but the effect is generally not ideal. PE, PP can be wiped off with Tianna water, net washing water, and ink thinner.

If you use UV ink, it is more troublesome. PET, PVC, PC, PS can be tried with alcohol. PE and PP currently have special cleaning agents. The single effect is not ideal and the smell is large.

1, The pattern does not exceed 3 hours, it can be removed with absolute ethanol;

2, The pattern does not exceed 24 hours, you can use water to remove it;

3, Between 24 hours and 72 hours, the pattern can be removed with banana water.

It takes too long to spit the pattern on the plastic bottle. If you remove it, it will destroy the surface material and affect the reprinting.

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How does the hand sanitizer creates foam?

How does the hand sanitizer create foam? It is caused by air pressure. The hand washing liquid is manually pressurized to hydraulically wash the hands. The mousse bottle is with high pressure when it is filled. It has pressure and will automatically spray as long as the bottle mouth is pressed.

Compared with ordinary hand sanitizers, foam hand sanitizers have innovative breakthroughs in function and concept. To put it simply, the foam is relatively rich, and the foam is directly pressed. It can be disposable or washed. This type of foaming hand sanitizer is relatively water-saving to clean and relatively clean and easy to rinse. The principle is that there is a special device at the mouth of the bottle to fully mix the air with the foaming agent. I haven’t seen a foam gun for firefighting. I must have done such an experiment in a middle school. The drooping paper floats to the place where the gas flows, because the fluid has a decompression effect. The foam gun has a common nozzle in the middle, and there is a hole with many holes on the side. When the foaming agent is sprayed from the middle of the sleeve, a large amount of air is drawn in from the side due to the decrease in air pressure, and it is mixed with it to generate foam.

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Reasons for selecting a PET bottle

In recent years, we have found more and more cosmetic brands on the market using pet lotion bottles. So why is pet lotion packaging so popular? First of all, the glass or acrylic lotion bottle is too heavy, and the weight is not conducive to carrying out. As more young people travel, the pet lotion bottle package is more convenient to carry. It is also more portable. Secondly, with the rise of online shopping, lotion bottles often break or have other damaged conditions during transportation, while pet lotion bottles are shatter-resistant, and collisions and extrusions during transportation will not cause problems such as breakage and leakage. Once again, pet lotion bottle packaging is relatively simple to produce and low in cost, so it is also popular.

How to select a good PET bottle?The answer is choose a new material. Some plastic blow molding manufacturers will use the secondary material to process the pet lotion bottle, which obviously affects the quality of the emulsion. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the raw materials produced by the lotion bottle manufacturers. Besides, price is also important, the lotion bottles are used in large quantities, so you need to control the cost as much as possible In addition, the stability of the supply of the emulsion bottle packaging manufacturers, and the timely delivery is also crucial for the late stage of the emulsion manufacturer.

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