How to Import into the US

Sales Representatives

Overseas, a sales representative is the equivalent of a manufacturer’s representative in the United States. The representative uses the company’s product literature and samples to present the product to potential buyers. A representative usually handles many complementary lines that do not conflict. The sales representative usually works on a commission basis, assumes no risk or responsibility, and is under contract for a definite period of time (renewable by mutual agreement). The contract defines territory, terms of sale, method of compensation, reasons and procedures for terminating the agreement, and other details. The sales representative may operate on either an exclusive or a nonexclusive basis.

Agents

The widely misunderstood term “agent” means a representative who normally has authority, perhaps even a power of attorney, to make commitments on behalf of the firm he or she represents. Firms in the United States and other developed countries have stopped using the term and instead rely on the term “representative,” since agent can imply more than intended. It is important that any contract state whether the representative or agent does or does not have legal authority to obligate the firm.

Distributors

The foreign distributor is a merchant who purchases goods from a U.S. exporter (often at a substantial discount) and resells it for a profit. The foreign distributor generally provides support and service for the product, thus relieving the U.S. company of these responsibilities. The distributor usually carries an inventory of products and a sufficient supply of spare parts and also maintains adequate facilities and personnel for normal servicing operations. Distributors typically handle a range of non-conflicting but complementary products. End users do not usually buy from a distributor; they buy from retailers or dealers.

The terms and length of association between the U.S. company and the foreign distributor are established by contract. Some U.S. companies prefer to begin with a relatively short trial period and then extend the contract if the relationship proves satisfactory to both parties.

Foreign Retailers

A company may also sell directly to foreign retailers, although in such transactions, products are generally limited to consumer lines. The growth of major retail chains in markets such as Canada and Japan has created new opportunities for this type of direct sale. This method relies mainly on traveling sales representatives who directly contact foreign retailers, although results might also be achieved by mailing catalogs, brochures, or other literature. The direct mail approach has the benefits of eliminating commissions, reducing traveling expenses, and reaching a broader audience. For optimal results, a firm that uses direct mail to reach foreign retailers should support it with other marketing activities.

American manufacturers with ties to major domestic retailers may also be able to use them to sell abroad. Many large American retailers maintain overseas buying offices and use these offices to sell abroad when practical.

Joint Venture Partners

In some cases, joint ventures provide the best partner-like manner of obtaining foreign trade income. The firm then choses to begin a business relationship with a firm in the host country. International joint ventures are used in a wide variety of manufacturing, mining, and service industries and frequently involve technology licensing by the U.S. firm to the joint venture.

Export.gov Trade Leads Database

View announcements from qualified international companies looking to source U.S. products and services and advertise government tender projects through our trade leads database. All of our trade leads are pre-screened by our U.S. embassy or consulate staff overseas and are provided as a free service for U.S. exporters.

International Trade Opportunities Through the World Bank and the Multilateral Development Banks

Billions of dollars worth of international projects are funded every year through the World Bank and the various multilateral development banks (MLDBs). Learn what projects are upcoming in your industry and region of interest.

Direct Exporting

In this approach, the exporter handles every aspect of the exporting process from market research to foreign distribution and collections. A significant commitment of management time and attention is required, but this approach can maximize profits and sales growth. Most Direct Exporters take advantage of one or more sales and distribution channels in a given market by forming in-country business partnerships with agents, distributors and/or joint venture partners.

To learn about services designed to match U.S. companies with buyers and/or business partners, see the Partners and Trade Leads section

Exporting Indirectly Through Intermediaries

With this approach, a company engages the services of an Export Management Company (EMC), an Export Trading Company (ETC) or other intermediary capable of finding foreign markets and buyers for its products. The exporter retains considerable control but gets access to well-established expertise and trade contacts.

To Find Potential EMCs and ETCs:

Office of Export Trading Company Affairs – Promotes the formation and use of export trade intermediaries and development of joint export ventures by U.S. firms.

Indirect Exporting

Indirect exporting refers to strategies whereby a U.S. manufacturer or service provider seeks out domestic buyers who represent foreign end users or customers.

Many U.S. and foreign corporations, general contractors, foreign trading companies, foreign government agencies, foreign distributors and retailers, and others in the United States purchase U.S. products and services for direct export, or as a supplement to products/services they offer to foreign customers. In this case a company may know its product is being exported, but it is still the domestic buyer who assumes the risk and handles the details

The Wholesalers Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise.

The wholesaling process is an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise. Wholesalers are organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of (a) goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other wholesalers or retailers), (b) capital or durable nonconsumer goods, and (c) raw and intermediate materials and supplies used in production.

Wholesalers sell merchandise to other businesses and normally operate from a warehouse or office. These warehouses and offices are characterized by having little or no display of merchandise. In addition, neither the design nor the location of the premises is intended to solicit walk-in traffic. Wholesalers do not normally use advertising directed to the general public. Customers are generally reached initially via telephone, in-person marketing, or by specialized advertising that may include Internet and other electronic means. Follow-up orders are either vendor-initiated or client-initiated, generally based on previous sales, and typically exhibit strong ties between sellers and buyers. In fact, transactions are often conducted between wholesalers and clients that have long-standing business relationships.

This sector comprises two main types of wholesalers: those that sell goods on their own account and those that arrange sales and purchases for others for a commission or fee.

(1) Establishments that sell goods on their own account are known as wholesalers, merchants, distributors, jobbers, drop shippers, import/export merchants, and sales branches. These establishments typically maintain their own warehouse, where they receive and handle goods for their customers. Goods are generally sold without transformation, but may include integral functions, such as sorting, packaging, labeling, and other marketing services.

(2) Establishments arranging for the purchase or sale of goods owned by others or purchasing goods on a commission basis are known as agents and brokers, commission merchants, import/export agents and brokers, auction companies, and manufacturers’ representatives. These establishments operate from offices and generally do not own or handle the goods they sell.

Some wholesalers establishments may be connected with a single manufacturer and promote and sell the particular manufacturers’ products to a wide range of other wholesalers or retailers. Other wholesalers may be connected to a retail chain or a limited number of retail chains and only provide a variety of products needed by that particular retail operation(s). These wholesalers may obtain the products from a wide range of manufacturers. Still other wholesalers may not take title to the goods, but act as agents and brokers for a commission.

Although, in general, wholesaling normally denotes sales in large volumes, durable nonconsumer goods may be sold in single units. Sales of capital or durable nonconsumer goods used in the production of goods and services, such as farm machinery, medium and heavy duty trucks, and industrial machinery, are always included in wholesale trade.

Myth:

95-percent of the containers that come into the ports are not inspected.

Summary of Reality:

The 95-percent figure is misleading and falsely implies that we do nothing to inspect cargo containers arriving at our seaports. We use intelligence to review information on 100 % of cargo entering our ports, and all cargo that presents a risk to our country is inspected using large x-ray and radiation detection equipment. Following 9/11, the Administration developed and implemented a smarter strategy to identify, target, and inspect cargo containers before they reach U.S. ports. While it is possible to secure a nation by closing its borders and inspecting everything and everybody that enters, doing so would render us obsolete.

None of the security measures implemented as a result of this strategy existed before 9/11.

Our strategy is to rule out potential threats before they arrive at our borders and ports. In fact, the security measures now in place allow us to rule out 94 % of the cargo as potential threats prior to its arrival into the United States. Six percent (6 %) of total cargo containers were identified this year as potential threats and were physically inspected immediately upon arrival. (The percentage will change annually because the inspections are based upon identified risk following intensive screening.) Dramatically increasing physical inspections after arrival is a waste of resources that will not appreciably increase our national security. In fact, the type of increase in physical inspections implied by this allegation would cost billions of dollars in resources and cripple not only the U.S. economy, but the global economy as well.

Key Facts Which Did Not Exist Before 9-11:

The 95-percent figure is misleading and falsely implies that we do nothing to inspect cargo containers arriving at our seaports. We use intelligence to review information on 100 % of all cargo information entering U.S. ports, and all cargo that presents a risk to our country is inspected using large x-ray and radiation detection equipment.

Following 9/11, under the leadership of President Bush we developed and implemented a smart cargo container security strategy to identify, target, and inspect cargo containers before they reach U.S. ports. Under this strategy:

100 % of all containers identified as posing a terrorist risk are inspected using x-ray scans and radiation detection equipment. (i.e. anything identified as having the potential for concealment of terrorist weapons or terrorists.)

The Administration requires that advance information be given to our border agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), about all containers well before they arrive. In fact, the information is required 24 hours before they are loaded on to vessels at foreign seaports (24-Hour Rule).

Containers posing a potential terrorist threat are identified and targeted before they arrive at U.S. seaports by the National Targeting Center (NTC). The NTC was established as the centralized coordination point for all of CBPs anti-terrorism efforts. Prior to 9/11, no national-level targeting of people or goods crossing our borders existed.

NTC uses intelligence and terrorist indicators to review advance information for all cargo, passengers, and imported food shipments before arrival into the U.S. NTC coordinates with other federal agencies such as U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Air Marshals, FBI, Transportation Security Administration, and the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, as well as the intelligence community.

The Administration works with our foreign partners to allow U.S. officers working at major international seaports, currently 26, to identify and inspect containers prior to being loaded onto ships destined for the U.S. Container Security Initiative (CSI)

The Administration created a public-private and international partnership with over 7,000 businesses, including most of the largest U.S. importers — the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). Under this program, legitimate companies that do regular business with the U.S. have increased their own security to prevent terrorists from infiltrating their shipments. (We check not only the company shipping the goods, but also the companies that provided them with any services.)

Approximately 40 % of all cargo headed for the U.S. is transported by C-TPAT partners and is therefore better secured.

Additional technology has been added, including Radiation Portal Monitors, Isotope Identifiers, and Personal Radiation Monitors. For the first time CBP is also using chemical and explosive detector dogs to inspect cargo.

Washington, D.C. The number of companies certified to file electronic manifests (e-Manifests) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) tripled this week, from 41 to 126 companies. There are currently 113 truck carriers and 15 service bureaus certified to use EDI to file e-Manifests. “This puts adoption of the e-Manifest capability on the fast track and will help ensure smooth operations when we make e-Manifest mandatory later this year,” said CBP Cargo Systems Program Office Executive Director Louis Samenfink. “We are now seeing private industry service providers become certified to file e-Manifests through EDI for their clients, which quickly opens the process to a whole new range of carriers who use third party services to submit their CBP filings.”

The e-Manifest capability is available to truck carriers at all ports using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the next generation of technology designed to enhance national border security and expedite lawful trade. The U.S. government does not charge fees to file e-Manifests, but carriers may choose to have certified service providers file submissions on their behalf, for a fee determined by the service provider. Certified service bureaus/software developers are listed under “ACE Electronic Truck Manifest Information,” http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/.

Time Saving System

ACE e-manifest for trucks is a powerful, time saving tool. Truck carriers can submit an e-Manifest through the web-based ACE Secure Data Portal or via CBP approved Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) procedures. The portal is essentially a customized computer screen similar to a Web site home page that connects CBP, the trade community, and other participating government agencies by providing a single, integrated, on-line access point for communications and information. With a one-screen system, filing is easy and data can be stored and reused, requiring less data entry time for truck carriers. The U.S. government does not charge fees to use the ACE Secure Data Portal, but requires companies to establish accounts to use the portal, for which Internet access is required.

How e-Manifest works

When a truck approaches the primary booth, transponder technology similar to that of a toll-paying device may be used to signal the truck’s arrival. The e-Manifest is automatically retrieved along with the matching pre-filed entries, in-bond requests and other release declarations for the CBP officer to view and process. In addition, by establishing and using an ACE portal account, carriers can track the status of their trips and generate a wide variety of reports. This enables carriers to identify trends to plan future courses of action and achieve better results for their company.

Reap e-manifest advantages now and later

There are currently 44 ACE ports in the states of Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, and Washington. CBP is working diligently to finish deployment at all 91 land-border ports and encourages truck carriers to establish ACE truck carrier accounts now to ensure smooth border operations when electronic manifests are mandated at all land ports, beginning later this year, on a port-by-port basis. Carriers may contact a broker or service provider to discuss how e-Manifests can be filed. Nearly 2,000 e-Manifests have been filed to date. Eventually ACE will reach all ports and e-Manifest capabilities will be extended to air, rail, and sea cargo processing in the coming years.

Washington, D.C. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) targeted approximately 40 shipments at the Buffalo Port of Entry during January 2006. CBP Import Specialists and CBP officers participated in a two-week blitz targeting textile and wearing apparel merchandise coming into the United States by truck from Canada. Significant violations discovered during this special enforcement operation included inaccurate marking, merchandise misclassification to avoid visa/quota restrictions, new clothing presented as used or worn, and a number of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations. The seizure of the merchandise is valued at approximately $56,000.

“These special operations are necessary for CBP to maintain a robust trade enforcement program and to ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing all imports,” said Jayson P. Ahern, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations. “CBP’s enforcement efforts not only protects the revenue, but also the U.S. consumer.”

Textiles entering the United States account for 43 percent of all duties collected. CBP ranks second to the Internal Revenue Service as a source of revenue for the Federal Government. One of CBP’s missions is to protect the nation’s revenue by assessing and collecting duties, taxes, and fees incident to international traffic and trade. On average, CBP collects $81,834,000 in fees, duties, and tariffs every day. CBP Import Specialists with specialized commodity knowledge analyze and review textile and other merchandise imports for possible violations.