Import and export guidance, Miami to Latin AmericaYour first shipment should not be the one that teaches you.
Most of what goes wrong on a first import or export is not exotic. It is a filing nobody made, a threshold nobody knew about, or an Incoterm that put the risk somewhere the buyer did not expect. This page is the list for Miami shippers trading with Latin America and the Caribbean, laid out properly and free to read. The consulting is the part where somebody sits with you and works your actual shipment.
Thirty-four years of shipping out of Miami. We respond within 4 business hours, Monday–Friday.
Importing or exporting? Tell it which way your freight is going.
Four combinations, four different lists. The deadlines below are the ones in the regulations, not rules of thumb.
Importing into the United States, by ocean
The common case for a commercial ocean import arriving at a US port. Two of these are due before your container is loaded on the other side of the ocean.
This is the common case for commercial cargo. Restricted commodities, licensed goods, personal effects and temporary imports all run differently. If yours is one of those, that is a conversation rather than a checklist. Call us.
Eleven terms. Three of them cause most of the arguments.
An Incoterm decides three things: who arranges the transport, where risk passes from seller to buyer, and who clears customs at each end. It does not decide when you get paid, and it is not a delivery promise.
Incoterms® is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce. The summaries above are ours, in plain English; the rules themselves are the ICC’s and are what govern a contract that incorporates them.
Importer of record, USPPI: who is who and who is on the hook.
Two words appear on every document and almost nobody explains them before the first shipment goes wrong.
The owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker they designate. That is almost always you.
The importer of record owes reasonable care on classification and valuation, owes the duties, taxes and fees, and has to keep the records for five years. A broker files on your behalf. The responsibility does not move with the filing.
The US Principal Party in Interest: the person in the United States who receives the primary benefit from the transaction. Usually the seller.
The USPPI is responsible for the export data. In a routed transaction the foreign buyer appoints a US agent to file instead, and the USPPI still has to hand that agent accurate data. Knowing which of the two you are in is the whole question.
15 CFR part 30 sets both.
Ten digits decide what you pay.
The tariff number is not administrative trivia. It sets the duty rate, it decides whether a free trade agreement applies, and getting it wrong is the most common reason an importer ends up owing money years later.
The first six digits are international. They mean the same thing in every country that uses the Harmonized System, which is almost all of them. Digits seven and eight are the US legal subheading. That is where the duty rate lives. Nine and ten are a statistical suffix for the Census, and carry no legal tariff consequence.
The importer of record is legally responsible for the classification, even when a broker enters it. That is what “reasonable care” means in practice.
If it matters, get a ruling. CBP issues binding rulings on classification, and past rulings on similar goods are public and searchable. For a program you will run for years, a binding ruling costs nothing but time and takes the argument off the table permanently. We will help you put the request together. What we will not do is hand you a forwarder’s opinion and call it certainty.
Nearly every Miami to Latin America lane runs into these.
CAFTA-DR covers Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. There is no government form. A certification carrying the required data elements is enough, and the producer, exporter or importer can make it. What matters is that the goods actually meet the rule of origin and that you keep the records, because the claim can be verified after entry.
Pallets, crates and dunnage have to be heat treated or fumigated and carry the IPPC mark. Most of Latin America and the Caribbean enforces it, and an unmarked pallet is found at the destination port, not at ours. If we are crating it, this is handled. If you are supplying the pallets, check them.
Before you ship to a new counterparty, run the name against the US Consolidated Screening List. It merges the Commerce, State and Treasury lists into one search. Dealing with a listed party is a violation regardless of what you knew, and the search takes under a minute.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, some countries still want documents legalized, some want specific invoice wording, some want the consignee’s tax identification on the bill of lading before it is issued. It varies by country and it changes. We work these lanes every week, and at destination we work with agents on each lane who handle the import entry. Ask before the booking, not after the vessel sails.
Shipping a used car, truck or piece of construction plant? That has its own rule. The vehicle and its title have to be presented to CBP 72 hours before export. It is covered on the project cargo page.
What the consulting actually is.
A conversation with somebody who has moved this lane before. You describe what you are buying or selling, where it is coming from or going, and what you have agreed with the other side. We tell you what it is going to need, what it is likely to cost you in time, and where we think the trouble is.
For customers whose freight we move, that is part of the job and there is no invoice attached to it. We would rather spend an hour before the booking than a week after it.
For a standalone project, whether a new program, a supply chain being redesigned or a compliance question with no freight attached, tell us what you need and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people or whether you want a licensed customs broker or a trade attorney.
It is not a legal opinion, and we will not pretend a forwarder’s read is one.
It is not a binding classification. Those come from CBP.
It is not a rate card with a “strategy” tier. There is no package. There is a phone number, and a person who picks it up.
If this is your first import or export.
I have never imported anything. What do I need before I can even start?
Three things, and you can have all of them inside a week. A customs power of attorney, so a licensed broker can file for you. A customs bond, single entry or continuous depending on how often you will import. And an importer of record number, which for a US company is normally your IRS employer identification number. After that it is documents per shipment: a commercial invoice that shows real values and country of origin, a packing list, and the bill of lading or airway bill. Call us before you place the order, not after the supplier ships it.
When do I have to file an export declaration?
When the value of the goods under any single Schedule B or HTSUSA number, from one seller to one consignee on one conveyance, is more than $2,500. That threshold is per classification number, not per shipment, so a mixed load can have some lines that need filing and some that do not. Licensed goods and certain destinations require filing regardless of value. The deadlines are 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel, or two hours before the scheduled departure of the aircraft.
What is an ITN and where does it go?
The Internal Transaction Number is the confirmation the Automated Export System issues once your export declaration is accepted. It has to appear on the bill of lading or airway bill. No ITN, no clean export document, and carriers will not load without it where it is required.
Which Incoterm should I be using?
For containerized cargo, FCA far more often than FOB, and for the same reason FOB keeps causing arguments: risk under FOB passes when the goods are on board, but a container leaves your control at the terminal days earlier. If you are the seller and the buyer wants EXW, push back. You are likely the only party who can legally clear the export. If you are the buyer and the seller offers DDP, check that they can actually act as importer of record in your country. And if you are buying CIF, look at the insurance certificate, because CIF only obliges minimum cover.
How do I find the right tariff number?
Start with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and the six-digit international heading for your product, then work down to the US eight-digit line where the duty rate sits. Past CBP rulings on comparable goods are public and searchable and are the best free evidence you will find. If the classification is genuinely contested, or the duty difference is worth arguing about, request a binding ruling from CBP rather than relying on anybody’s opinion, ours included.
Can I still bring in small shipments duty free under $800?
Not for commercial freight. Duty-free de minimis treatment was suspended in 2025 and CBP published a rule in June 2026 suspending it indefinitely for merchandise arriving through every mode other than the international postal network. Shipments that used to slip in under $800 now need a formal or informal entry like everything else. This is an area that has moved several times, so ask us where it stands when you call rather than trusting a page you found last year.
Do you charge for this?
For customers whose freight we are moving, no. It is part of the job, and it is cheaper for everyone than untangling a problem afterwards. For standalone work with no shipment attached, tell us what you need and we will be straight with you about whether we are the right people. Some questions belong with a licensed customs broker or a trade attorney and we will say so.
What can you not help with?
We do not give legal advice, we do not issue binding classification opinions, and we do not handle personal effects or household goods. We are a commercial freight forwarder and NVOCC. Everything on this page is general information about how the process works. Useful, checked, and not a substitute for advice on your specific shipment.
Where the checklist turns into a shipment.
Bring us the shipment you have not booked yet.
What it is, where it is going, what you have agreed with the other side. We will tell you what it needs and where the trouble is, while it is all still easy to change.
Miami, FL 33166
(Medley)
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Read this before you rely on it
Express Freight International, Inc. is a freight forwarder and NVOCC. This page is general information about how US import and export processes work. It is not legal advice, not customs advice, and not a classification, valuation or admissibility determination for any particular shipment. Only a licensed customs broker may transact customs business on your behalf, and the importer of record or USPPI remains legally responsible for the filing. Thresholds, deadlines and duty treatment change; the citations here were checked against the eCFR and CBP sources on September 18, 2026. Confirm anything that matters against the current regulation, and against your own broker or counsel, before acting on it.
Sources
- 15 CFR 30.37(a): EEI exemption where the value under a single Schedule B or HTSUSA number from one USPPI to one consignee on one conveyance is $2,500 or less.
- 15 CFR 30.4(b)(2): EEI filing deadlines. Vessel 24 hours before loading; air 2 hours before scheduled departure; truck 1 hour before arrival at the border; rail 2 hours.
- 15 CFR 30.3: USPPI definition and responsibilities, and routed export transactions.
- 19 CFR 149.2: Importer Security Filing, due no later than 24 hours before lading at the foreign port; ocean imports only.
- 19 CFR 141.46: customs power of attorney required before a broker acts.
- 19 CFR 142.12(b): entry summary and estimated duties within 10 working days after the time of entry.
- 19 CFR 10.584: data elements for a CAFTA-DR certification of origin.
- 19 CFR 192.2: used self-propelled vehicle presented to CBP 72 hours before export.
- CBP Directive 3510-004: continuous bond at 10% of prior calendar year duties, taxes and fees, $50,000 minimum.
- Federal Register, June 24, 2026: indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for merchandise arriving through all modes other than the international postal network.
- Incoterms® 2020, International Chamber of Commerce: the eleven terms and their allocation of cost, risk and clearance.
- Bureau of Industry and Security Consolidated Screening List: combined Commerce, State and Treasury restricted party lists.