Two directions, one operating chain
Two companies, one on each side of the Pacific. On the shipments we purchase, goods leave Taiwan under our Taiwan company and enter the United States under our US company.
Inbound — Asia to the United States
US companies buying from Asia. On shipments we purchase, we are the importer of record. The entry is filed under our own US entity and tax identification number, and the customs bond is posted in our name.
Outbound — Taiwan to overseas markets
Taiwan sellers and traders shipping out. On shipments our Taiwan company purchases, it is the exporter of record and files the export declaration in its own name. Where the goods stay in the seller’s name, the export declaration is not ours to file.
Whose name is on the US import entry?
Ours, on the shipments we buy — because we bought the goods before they shipped. A US entry has to be filed by a party with a real interest in the goods — its owner or purchaser — or by a licensed customs broker they appoint. Each leg of the shipment is backed by a purchase and sale between our two companies, so the company filing the entry is the company that owns the goods at that point.
Selling into the US: do you need a US company of your own?
No — not on the shipments we buy and import. Every US import entry needs an importer of record with a customs bond behind it, and on those shipments that role sits with our US company. It is not the only route: a foreign company can be the importer of record itself, subject to CBP’s separate requirements for non-resident importers. Which route fits depends on your volume and how often you ship. One point of contact across both legs. Each leg is contracted with the company that makes the declaration.
If customs comes back with a question, who answers?
As importer of record on those entries, we are the party US Customs comes back to on them. On shipments we do not own, we are not the importer of record, and those entries are not ours to answer. What we need from you is accurate product, origin and value information — the entry is built on it. As between us and you, how duties, taxes and any later adjustment are allocated is set out in the service agreement for each shipment.
What we do not take on
We do not take on goods that fall under FDA requirements. Food, supplements, cosmetics and medical devices are the obvious ones. Some electronics are on that list too — anything with a laser, a microwave source or an X-ray source needs a declaration to FDA at entry. If your product is in that group, it is outside our scope as well.
The reason is specific: FDA-regulated goods are tied to inspection and oversight requirements at the manufacturing facility, and we are not in a position to judge whether a given factory would hold up to a US inspection. Rather than take that on and find out at the port, we keep it outside our scope.
Send us the product name, specification and intended use, and we will tell you whether it is something we take on. Where a product’s regulatory status itself is unclear, that call belongs to FDA and CBP, not to us.
