Exporting to the United States – A Team Canada Inc Publication

10.3 Formal/commercial entry of goods

U.S. Customs requires formal entry, using a customs broker, for any shipment valued at more than US$2000.00. It also requires a broker for a shipment of any value if it consists of controlled goods (that is, goods requiring either Canadian or U.S. permits or licenses to cross the border).

We examined Canadian permit requirements earlier, in Section 8.5, "The Canada Border Services Agency and exports" and the two sections following it. On the U.S. side, licenses or permits are required for the import of:

• alcoholic beverages, firearms and ammunition (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms);
• animals and animal products, meat and meat products, plants and plant products, poultry and poultry products, vegetables (U.S. Department of Agriculture);
• artifacts and cultural property, trademarked articles (U.S. Customs and Border Protection;s
• biological materials, fruit and nuts, medicines, narcotics and certain drugs, milk, dairy and cheese products (U.S. Food and Drug Administration);
• hunting trophies, fish and wildlife, pets (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service);

Note that a U.S. customs inspector can require a formal entry, at his or her discretion, even if the goods are not controlled or even if they are valued at less than US$2,000.00.

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides a downloadable pamphlet on U.S. import requirements that contains much useful information about U.S. customs and entry procedures. Go to the CBP Publications page and use the U.S. Import Requirements link to download the document.