Printable Version Changes in US Low Value regulations make US imports quicker and easier


The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities have made a significant revision to the formal entry requirements for low value shipments of textile and apparel commodities and various other items.  Such commodities include but are not limited to clothing, fabrics, shoes with textile uppers, curtains, cushions, bed covers, textile or textile-covered bags, and other similar products.  

With effect from June 10, 2009 the value at which formal declarations for the import of such goods have to be made according to the “formal entry list“ policy has been increased from $5 to $250.  In addition, commodities valued at under $250 may now be released according to informal entry procedures so long as the commodity description in the manifest data is sufficient to properly identify the contents.

These changes, which cover both personal and commercial shipments, will make entry and clearance procedures simpler and faster and principally involve the following:

  1. No customs duty or Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) needs to be paid for shipments of  textiles less than $200 in value.

  2. Customs duty but no MPF will be assessed on shipments containing textiles between $200 and $250 in value.

  3. Formal entry will be required for shipments over $250 in value and such imports will require payment of both customs duty and MPF.

  4. A Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) code or the manufacturer’s full name and address (including country) must be shown on commercial invoices or supporting commercial documents for all shipments containing textiles which are over $200 in value.  

The MPF is charged at 0.21% of the customs value, with a minimum fee of $25 and a maximum of $485 being applied to all shipments.

FedEx customers are advised to ensure that appropriate commodity descriptions appear on their air waybills and commercial invoices: this information forms part of the specific pre-arrival information required by the CBP and as such is essential for the speedy entry and release of low value express shipments. 

The CBP bulletin TBT-09-007 and other information on textile commodities is available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/priority_trade/textiles/tbts/tbt2009/ 

For more information about textile shipments to the US, please contact FedEx Customer Service at 08456 07 08 09.