Trade compliance is the process by which goods enter the United States in conformance with all U.S. laws and regulations.  It is the goal of the Customs Service to maximize trade compliance while facilitating the importation of legitimate cargo.

While trade compliance is a core business process for Customs, a significant amount of the burden of compliance is placed upon importers. For example, under section 484 of the Tariff Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1484), the importer is responsible for using reasonable care to enter, classify and value imported merchandise, and provide any other information necessary to enable Customs to properly assess duties, collect accurate statistics and determine whether any other applicable legal requirements, if any, have been met.  The Customs Service is then responsible for fixing the final classification and value of the merchandise.  The failure of an importer of record to exercise reasonable care can delay release of the merchandise and, in some cases, result in the imposition of penalties for acting without reasonable care.

The law encourages companies that do not have the requisite skills to ensure compliance with all U.S. rules and regulations to seek the assistance of experts to ensure that these requirements are satisfied.

George R Tuttle Law Offices provides clients the expert assistance necessary to classify and value merchandise, and develop systems and procedures to ensure Customs expectations of informed compliance are met.