What should I look for when hiring a U.S. customs broker?
May 6, 2009 1:22 PM   Subscribe

What should I look for when hiring a U.S. customs broker?

My U.S. based company is making a rather large purchase from another country and our bank has asked us to hire a customs broker. Our business office has passed the job of hiring a customs broker on to me. Neither they nor I have ever used one before and, thus, I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to expect or look for. Any suggestions?
posted by Joey Michaels to Work & Money (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Disclaimer: Hi, I work for a Customs brokerage, and I'm taking my licensing test in October.

Basically, you're going to need to find someone who (a) has a strong knowledge of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. and (b) depending on what kind of bond your company will choose to use to import their stuff, a national permit to file entries with Customs.

It's going to be super important that you give whatever broker you do chose a ton of information about the product that you're importing, because the more specific and detailed you can be, the higher the odds of your product being classified correctly according to the HTS, which will in turn determine how much duty you will pay. Incorrectly classified products could potentially end up costing you thousands of dollars, and getting that money back from Customs is time-consuming. [I've seen it happen.]

Your broker of choice should also be able to issue a bond on your behalf -- it kind of acts as an insurance policy for the value of the duty of the goods that you're importing. If you're only going to be importing once or twice, you'll most likely use a single-entry bond each time, in which case you will need a broker in the port in which your shipment will be cleared; if this is going to become an ongoing thing for your company, a continuous bond will be your best bet, and your broker can be anywhere in relation to you and to your stuff. Your broker's national permit will allow them to clear any and all of your freight in the port of your choosing, which will give you and your company more options as to how you're going to move your freight.

Most importantly, perhaps -- and this may sound dumb, but -- your broker should know what they're doing, and be able to explain everything they're doing to you in an easily understandable manner. This is your company's money, and the government, and you don't want someone to be messing things up.

When you decide where you're stuff's going to come into the country, call that port's Customs and Border Protection office, and ask them for a list of brokers. They should provide to you a list of companies and their contact information. Definitely shop around, find someone that you think you'll work well with. It'll make it a lot easier on you and your company in the end. I'm going to be a little biased here, because I work for a small outfit, but some of the bigger guys will compartmentalize your entry and six different people may work on it, and some of them hardly ever talk to each other.

Of course, feel free to MeMail me if you have any questions. I can help you dig up numbers for CBP for you, and / or point you to relevant pages on their website. Take my word for it, it's a bit of a bitch to navigate.
posted by alynnk at 2:25 PM on May 6, 2009 [3 favorites]


Do you use trucking companies or other shipping companies regularly? You might inquire of them who they recommend. It all depends upon what commodity you are importing and from where; some customs brokers specialize in vehicles, others in chemcials, etc. Whenever I needed to hire a customs broker, I asked the opinions of the dispatchers of a couple of the trucking companies we regularly used and looked for a company with a "good" track record. (I worked in the steel industry in metro Detroit, but we also imported various products from around the world for sale to auto plants in Mexico.) One broker might specialize in certain "difficult" regions and can reduce the clearance time. By US law, authorized customs brokers are licensed and frequently audited, so they'll know the routine. Your main objective is to find one that is most familiar with your commodity and the exporting country. This page has some valuable tips as well.
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:32 PM on May 6, 2009 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you both - enormously helpful information and a great link from Oriole.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:58 PM on May 6, 2009


I can recommend this company from personal experience. They were very helpful and took the time to answer all my questions about fees and taxes and clearance times etc.
posted by extrabox at 6:09 PM on May 6, 2009


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