Most customs delays are not customs

When a shipment sits, importers call it a customs hold. Usually it is not. It is the Food and Drug Administration, or the Department of Agriculture, or Fish and Wildlife, or one of a dozen other agencies with their own data requirements, their own review times and their own power to stop your goods. We file that data alongside the entry rather than discovering it is missing after arrival, and we represent you with those agencies directly.

Which agencies, and what triggers them

FDA for food, beverages, supplements, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices and anything that touches them, including food contact packaging. USDA and APHIS for plant and animal material and for wood packaging. Fish and Wildlife for wildlife products, including leather, shell and some ornamental items people do not think of as wildlife.

EPA and DOT for vehicles, engines and some chemicals. CPSC for consumer products, and TTB for alcohol. The trigger is usually the tariff classification, which is one more reason classification is worth getting right the first time.

FDA prior notice, which has its own clock

Food imports require prior notice to FDA before arrival, on a timetable that depends on how the goods are travelling. Late or missing prior notice means refusal at the port, and it is not a filing that can be quietly fixed afterwards.

We file it with the entry data, in the same flow, which is the only reliable way to make sure it happens at all.

Representation, which is the part brokers quietly skip

Filing the data is the easy half. The other half is what happens when an agency comes back: a request for documents, a sampling notice, a detention, a question about a label. Those have deadlines, and an unanswered agency is a shipment that stops.

We answer the agency directly, on your behalf, and we tell you what they asked and what we said. That includes the agencies that are not CBP, which is where most importers find their broker suddenly becomes hard to reach.

Our own connection, and why it matters here

We operate our own connection to the Automated Commercial Environment, electronically linked with CBP and the partner government agencies. There is no middle system between your entry and the government.

In practice that means when an agency message comes back we see it immediately and can act on it, rather than waiting for a service provider to notice and forward it. On a perishable shipment that difference is the shipment.

FAQ

My shipment is held. Is that customs?

Often it is not. A large share of what importers experience as customs holds are partner government agency reviews, most commonly FDA or USDA. We will tell you which it actually is and what it needs.

What is FDA prior notice?

Advance notice to FDA that a food shipment is arriving, required before arrival on a timetable that depends on the mode of transport. Missing or late prior notice means refusal at the port.

Do you deal with the agency directly?

Yes, on your behalf, including the agencies that are not CBP. Requests for documents, sampling notices and detentions all carry deadlines, and an unanswered agency is a stopped shipment.

How do I know which agencies apply to my product?

Usually the tariff classification determines it. Send us the product and we will tell you which agencies are in scope before the shipment moves.

Do you have your own ACE connection?

Yes, linked directly with CBP and the partner government agencies. When an agency message comes back we see it immediately rather than waiting for a third party to forward it.

Find out which agencies your product triggers

Send us the commodity and we will tell you what has to be filed and when, before the goods are on the water.

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