QUICK ANSWER To import from China to the USA you agree terms with your supplier (buy FOB), verify the supplier and documents, book ocean or air freight, file ISF and clear US customs through a licensed broker, pay duty and any Section 301 tariff, then arrange drayage and delivery. The big 2026 change: the de minimis exemption no longer applies to Chinese goods, so even small shipments owe duty and a formal entry.
Learning how to import from China is mostly about sequencing seven steps so no clock catches you: the ISF deadline, the free-time clock at the port, and the duty bill at entry. This guide walks each step for a US importer, with the 2026 tariff and de minimis changes built in.
Can you import from China yourself
Yes. There is no license required to be a US importer of most commercial goods, and a small business can run its first shipment. What trips people up is not permission, it is the handoffs: a missed ISF filing is a $5,000 penalty, and a container that sits past its free days runs demurrage by the day. The steps below, from choosing your Incoterm to final delivery, keep those clocks from ever starting.
Step 1: Agree terms with your supplier
Settle price, quantity, lead time, and the Incoterm before you pay a deposit. The Incoterm decides where the supplier's job ends and yours begins, and it is the single biggest lever on how much of the shipment you control. For a US importer, that almost always means buying FOB, covered in Step 3.
Step 2: Verify the supplier and the documents
Before the first deposit, confirm the supplier is a real manufacturer or trading company and that the paperwork your entry will need actually exists: the commercial invoice, packing list, and the product-specific certificates your goods require. Getting the documents collected and consistent up front is what keeps a shipment out of a customs hold later, which is the job Platton's supplier document validation does before you book the freight.
Step 3: Choose your Incoterm
Buy FOB. Under FOB, the supplier clears the goods for export and loads them on the vessel, and you take over the freight, the carrier choice, and the visibility from the origin port. That keeps the China-side work with the party equipped for it and the freight decision with you. Avoid EXW (you inherit Chinese export clearance) and be careful with DDP (the seller controls your declared value and duty). The full breakdown is in our Incoterms 2020 guide and the FOB guide.
Step 4: Book ocean or air freight
Full containers ship FCL, smaller loads ship LCL or consolidate, and urgent restocks fly. The choice is cost against speed.
Ocean vs air from China, at a glance
| Mode | Door to door | Best for | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean FCL | 3 to 5 weeks (West Coast) | Full containers, planned restocks | Lowest per unit |
| Ocean LCL | 3 to 6 weeks | Part loads, smaller orders | Low, but higher per CBM |
| Air freight | 5 to 10 days | Launches, urgent restocks, high value | 4 to 6 times ocean per kilo |
Ocean to the East Coast adds roughly two weeks over the West Coast. Book through a freight forwarder and you get one quote and one owner for the whole move instead of five separate vendors.
Step 5: File ISF and clear US customs
For ocean shipments, the Importer Security Filing must reach CBP at least 24 hours before the container is loaded in China. Late or wrong data is a $5,000 penalty. The customs entry itself is filed by a licensed customs broker, who classifies the goods under their HTS code and submits the entry for CBP release. Clean, pre-filed paperwork usually clears in a day or two; a wrong code or a flagged entry can trigger an exam that holds the container while charges accrue. This is customs clearance work.
Step 6: Pay duty, Section 301, and fees
This is where 2026 bites hardest. As the importer of record, you owe the duty, and for Chinese-origin goods that usually means a Section 301 tariff of 7.5 to 25 percent stacked on the base HTS rate, plus the federal entry fees.
What you owe at entry on a China import
| Charge | How it is calculated | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Base duty | HTS rate on the customs value | Varies by product, verify your code |
| Section 301 tariff | 7.5% to 25% on Chinese-origin goods | Stacks on the base duty |
| MPF | 0.3464% of value | 2026 min $33.58, max $651.50 per entry |
| HMF | 0.125% of value | Ocean imports only |
KEY TAKEAWAY The de minimis exemption that once let shipments under $800 enter duty-free no longer applies to goods from China. In 2026, even small China orders owe duty, Section 301, and a formal entry, so the "under $800 ships free" plan no longer works for Chinese-origin goods.
Because duty classification moves the number by margin points, getting your HTS code and Section 301 exposure reviewed through customs compliance work often pays for itself.
Step 7: Drayage and final delivery
Once CBP and the terminal release the container, a drayage driver pulls it from the port to your warehouse. Terminals give a few free days, then demurrage runs daily, and the chassis and container add per-diem after that. Whoever owns this step owns whether a released container actually moves before the clock starts.
What it costs to import from China
The supplier's price is only the start. The real number is your landed cost: product, freight, duty and Section 301, insurance, fees, and delivery, divided by units. On China imports that commonly runs 20 to 50 percent above the invoice once the Section 301 stack is in. Our landed cost guide walks the full per-unit math with worked examples.
How long importing from China takes
Plan door to door, not port to port. The transit is only the middle of the timeline.
Typical import timeline, China to USA
| Stage | Rough time |
|---|---|
| Supplier production and handoff | Set by your order, often weeks |
| Origin consolidation and loading | 3 to 7 days |
| Ocean transit, West Coast | 14 to 20 days |
| Ocean transit, East Coast | 28 to 35 days |
| US customs release (clean file) | Same day to 2 days |
| Drayage and final delivery | 2 to 7 days |
How Platton helps you import from China
Importing from China is seven steps and three clocks. Platton runs all of it on one file for US importers, so a first-time importer does not learn the $5,000 lessons the hard way.
One quote, one owner from factory to door
Freight, clearance, duty exposure, and delivery on a single itemized sheet, with one coordinator who owns the China to USA lane from booking to delivery.
The paperwork ready before the deadline
We collect and check supplier documents before cargo ships and file ISF on time, so the entry is ready before the 24-hour clock and the container is not the one flagged for a document gap.
Duty and Section 301 reviewed, not guessed
Your HTS classification and Section 301 exposure get reviewed before entry, so you are not overpaying duty or discovering the real rate at the border.
The demurrage clock owned, not watched
Because clearance and drayage sit on the same file, the container moves off the terminal before demurrage starts instead of after.
Get an itemized China import quote
Common Questions About Importing from China
Can I import from China to the USA myself?
Yes. Most commercial goods need no import license, and a small business can run its own shipments. The hard part is not permission, it is managing the ISF deadline, the customs entry, the duty bill, and the demurrage clock without a gap. First-time importers usually use a freight forwarder precisely to keep those handoffs from turning into penalties.
Do I have to pay import tax on goods from China?
Yes. As the importer of record you owe the duty at the HTS rate for your product, and for most Chinese-origin goods a Section 301 tariff of 7.5 to 25 percent stacks on top, plus the MPF and HMF entry fees. Duty is paid to CBP at entry, not to your supplier or forwarder, and the rate depends on how your goods are classified.
How much can I import from China without paying duty?
For Chinese-origin goods, effectively nothing now. The de minimis exemption that once let shipments under $800 enter duty-free no longer applies to goods from China, so even small orders owe duty, any Section 301 tariff, and a formal customs entry. Budgeting a China import as if small parcels still ship duty-free is the most common 2026 mistake.
How much does it cost to import from China?
Beyond the supplier price, budget your landed cost: freight, duty and Section 301, insurance, entry fees, and delivery. On China imports that commonly adds 20 to 50 percent to the invoice once tariffs are counted. The only reliable way to price a product is to total every line per unit, which our landed cost guide walks through step by step.
How long does it take to import from China?
Door to door, plan 3 to 5 weeks by ocean to the West Coast, 5 to 7 weeks to the East Coast, and 5 to 10 days by air, plus your supplier's production time up front. Customs adds little on a clean, pre-filed entry, often same-day to two days, but an exam or a document problem can add one to three weeks.
What documents do I need to import from China?
At minimum a commercial invoice, a packing list, the bill of lading, and any product-specific certificates your goods require, plus the ISF data for ocean shipments. The documents need to be present, complete, and consistent before the entry files, because a mismatch is a common trigger for a customs hold. Collecting and checking them up front is part of what a forwarder does before cargo ships.
Do I need a freight forwarder to import from China?
If you are moving pallets or containers, practically yes. Booking ocean freight, filing ISF on time, clearing customs, and arranging drayage as a first-time importer is where the expensive mistakes happen. A forwarder gives you one quote, one owner, and the pooled rates and managed handoffs that keep penalties and demurrage off your invoice.
Related Freight Forwarding Guides
Shipping from China to USA: the lane in depth, ports, rates, and timelines.
Incoterms 2020 explained: the terms that decide who controls the freight.
Landed cost: the full per-unit cost of a China import.
