Your Broker Knows Blog

Among the most easily confused or missed of the import bonds, the Temporary Import Bond (TIB) is the perfect tool for a particular kind of import, namely, brief stays in the US with the intention of being returned within a set timeframe. Most famously, this bond is used for exhibitions, trade shows, repairs, and assembly.

Among the most easily confused or missed of the import bonds, the Temporary Import Bond (TIB) is the perfect tool for a particular kind of import, namely, brief stays in the US with the intention of being returned within a set timeframe. Most famously, this bond is used for exhibitions, trade shows, repairs, and assembly.

Importing a car into the U.S. from Canada, you first need to determine if the car is admissible into the United States.  Canada allows for vehicles th …

The last of our bonds series tackles one of the more niche uses for a Customs bond - the Temporary Import Bond (TIB) or, as its equivalent is known in Canada, the E29B. Essentially, these two allow importers to bring items into their respective countries that are intended to be exported unchanged after a brief period - with the notable exception of repairs and overhauls.

The Lacey Act is a US declaration that is a joint effort between the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the US Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service. The act helps to combat the illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish, and plants by making importers declare further details about their imports if they include materials covered by the Lacey Act. It is particularly focused, in the case of commercial importers, on the importation of wood, plants, and wildlife that has been harvested illegally. 

What is the FDA? The FDA, or the Food and Drug Administration, is the federal agency most responsible for ensuring that food, drugs, cosmetics, and other related items are safe, clean, and correctly labeled for human and pet

Last week’s post dived into what it means to be a bonded carrier and the kinds of bonds that can matter most to those carriers. This week, we are going to take in the one or two common types of surety bonds that are most valuable to the importer on both sides of the US/Canada border. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a single entry and a continuous bond in the US is or what CARM is going to mean for commercial importers in Canada, then this is the post for you. 

For those who engage in global trade, a Customs broker is a vital piece of the international puzzle, and we aren’t just saying that because we are one. The pure volume of knowledge and specialized services provided by a trusted Customs broker to an importer is comparable only to those offered by a lawyer or a doctor. Certainly, you could defend yourself in court or Google-diagnose, but it is as inadvisable as it is dangerous and unnecessary. 

This week, in a series we’re calling Shaken and Stirred - Bonds, Customs Bonds, we examine all the different types of bonds Customs brokers work within the US and Canada every day.In Customs brokerage, we bandy about the term ‘bond’ for just about every situation, but not every bond is appropriate for every situation, and often, that single term can actually mean a multitude of different things. We know it can be a confusing mess for those who are uninitiated to its complexities, but at PCB, we are here to help untangle the term and bring you a better understanding. This series is intended to provide a helpful and quick reference for dividing this concept into useful and meaningful parts. 

Imagine you have a sports car that was entirely manufactured in the US. Repairing it requires specialty skills, equipment, and parts, so you send it to a specialized Canadian company. After getting the repairs, you arrange to have the car shipped back home. The question at the heart of today’s post is this - is that import dutiable in the eyes of Customs and Border Protection?