Customs Law

The Department of Agriculture works to improve and maintain farm income and to develop and expand markets abroad for agricultural products. The Department helps to curb and cure poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. It works to enhance the environment and to maintain production capacity by helping landowners protect the soil, water, forests, and other natural resources. The Department, through inspection and grading services, safeguards and ensures standards of quality in the daily food supply.

What and how much you can bring into the United States is controlled by the U.S. Customs office, which basically views you as a small-time importer/exporter. Importers have to pay a governmental duty (tax) on any foreign-made item they bring into the country.

When entering either Canada or the USA: You must have proof of citizenship, in the form of a birth certificate (with photo ID like drivers licence), passport, visa, or alien registration card. Citizens and residents of some countries (other than Canadians or Americans) may require a visa before entering.

The products CBP prevent from entering the United States are those that would injure community health, public safety, American workers, children, or domestic plant and animal life, or those that would defeat our national interests. Sometimes the products that cause injury, or have the potential to do so, may seem fairly innocent. But, as you will see from the material that follows, appearances can be deceiving.

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules.

Title 19 of the United States Code outlines the role of customs and duties in the United States Code.

CROSS is a searchable database of CBP rulings that can be retrieved based on simple or complex search characteristics using keywords and Boolean operators. CROSS has the added functionality of CROSS referencing rulings from the initial search result set with their modified, revoked or referenced counterparts.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations. It also calls for the gradual elimination, over a period of 15 years, of most remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and services among the three countries.

The HTSA provides the applicable tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States; it is based on the international Harmonized System, the global system of nomenclature that is used to describe most world trade in goods.

The Directory of CBSA Offices is a comprehensive listing of designated CBSA offices and service locations across Canada, organized by province and then by district. The directory includes locations where travellers and commercial importers and exporters may fulfill their reporting obligations when entering and/or leaving the country.

The Community Customs Code compiles the rules, arrangements and procedures applicable to goods traded between the European Community (EC) and non-member countries. The Code is a single act covering the scope, definitions, basic provisions and content of Community customs law

Information about the manner in which to regulate and apply duty to incoming shipments which will enter the commerce of the United States.

The liberalization of world trade and investment has drawn attention to practical obstacles to the free flow of goods, services and investment across borders - in particular those related to customs policies and procedures.The central objective of the Committee on Customs and Trade Regulations is to overcome these barriers, to ensure that the liberalization of global trade and investment has a positive impact at the level of the individual international trade transaction.The Committee's work focuses on customs reform and modernization and the implementation of transparent, simplified and harmonized customs policies and procedures.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is the only intergovernmental organisation exclusively focused on Customs matters. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is now recognised as the voice of the global Customs community. It is particularly noted for its work in areas covering the development of global standards, the simplification and harmonisation of Customs procedures, trade supply chain security, the facilitation of international trade, the enhancement of Customs enforcement and compliance activities, anti-counterfeiting and piracy initiatives, public-private partnerships, integrity promotion, and sustainable global Customs capacity building programmes.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

The American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) is the only national professional organization focusing on the legal needs of the agricultural community. Crossing traditional barriers, AALA offers an independent forum for investigation of innovative and workable solutions to complex agricultural law problems.

The Customs and International Trade Bar Association (CITBA) was founded in 1917 and incorporated in 1926. Its members are attorneys who are interested in the field of customs law, international trade law and related matters.

CBPis one of the Department of Homeland Security’s largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. It also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Formed in 2003 as part of the federal government's response to the 9/11 attacks, ICE's primary mission is to protect national security, public safety and the integrity of the U.S. borders through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

All U.S. citizens, including children, must present a valid passport when entering the United States by air. U.S. citizens can present a passport, NEXUS card at airports with NEXUS kiosks, U.S. military ID with travel orders, or a U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when on official business.

The Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) provides duty rates for virtually every item that exists. The HTS is a reference manual that is the size of an unabridged dictionary.

(The information contained in this answer does not apply to food being sent to the U.S. through the mail, courier services or other means.) Many fruits and vegetables are either prohibited from entering the United States or require an import permit (for commercial importers) or a phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin. Every fruit or vegetable must be declared to a CBP Officer and must be presented for inspection - no matter how free of pests it appears to be. Please view the USDA/AHPIS Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements Approved Commodities List to see specific fruits and vegetables which are approved for import for all countries.

You should familiarize yourself with the inspection process for U.S. entry and the forms involved. Despite any visa you may have received from a U.S. Consulate or Embassy, a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. A separate U.S. agency, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has authority to deny admission at the port of entry. Also, the period for which you are authorized to remain in the U.S. is determined by the CBP upon arrival, and it may not be the same period as your visa.

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