Guides

Guides to sourcing and importing from China

47 guides in four sections: finding and vetting suppliers; the US tariff and customs rules that apply to Chinese goods; shipping and logistics; and the strategic question of when China is still the right place to make a product.

Start with a section

Finding and vetting suppliers in China

Discovery, legal checks, audits, samples, IP, contracts and payment: how supplier vetting fits together.

US tariffs and customs for Chinese imports

The October 2026 duty stack on Chinese goods, what ended in 2026, and how classification, origin and entry work.

Shipping and logistics from China

From factory gate to US door: trade terms, the importer of record, ocean and air options, transit time and holidays.

China sourcing strategy and alternatives

China's scale, the shift in US import shares, Vietnam, India, Mexico and reshoring, and the origin rules that decide tariffs.

Finding and Vetting Suppliers

15 guides

Where factories are found, how to tell a factory from a trader, how to verify a company, audit it, inspect its goods, contract with it and pay it.

How to find a manufacturer in China

Discovery channels compared, and the official checks that turn a long list of names into a shortlist of real manufacturers.

Factory vs trading company in China

What separates a Chinese factory from a trading company, and the license and register checks that show which one you face.

How to verify a Chinese supplier

The business license, the USCC, the GSXT register and the 2024 capital rules, read the way an importer needs to read them.

Factory audit checklist

The four kinds of factory audit, the checklist items each covers, and what ISO 9001, BSCI and SMETA reports do and do not show.

Avoiding China sourcing scams and red flags

How bank-account-change fraud works, the red flags of a fake supplier, and what to do in the first hours after a bad wire.

OEM vs ODM: who owns the design

Who owns the design, who pays for tooling, and why an ODM product is rarely exclusive to one buyer.

Private label manufacturing in China

The two sourcing routes, why the brand must be registered in China first, and who controls the packaging.

Minimum order quantity (MOQ) with Chinese suppliers

What sets a supplier's minimum, where hidden minimums sit, and the levers buyers use to lower them.

Ordering product samples from China

Sample types, the approval sequence, why a good sample proves less than it seems, and duty on samples.

Negotiating with Chinese suppliers

The variables beyond unit price, how to prepare comparable quotes, and the legal and fraud limits on any deal.

Sourcing agents in China

What sourcing agents do, the five fee models, where conflicts of interest arise, and how buyers control them.

Quality inspection and pre-shipment inspection

The four inspection stages, how AQL sampling accepts or rejects a lot, and what an inspection does not prove.

NNN agreements and IP protection in China

NNN vs NDA, China's first-to-file trademark system, what USTR says about enforcement, and what to register first.

China manufacturing contracts

Why the CISG applies by default, the clauses a supply contract needs, arbitration versus courts, and who owns the molds.

Paying Chinese suppliers

T/T deposits and balances, letters of credit under UCP 600, platform escrow, and how to confirm the right beneficiary.

Tariffs, Duties and Customs

15 guides

The US duty stack on Chinese goods as of October 2026, how classification and customs value work, and the compliance rules that stop shipments.

US tariffs on China: the 2026 duty stack

The layered US tariff stack on Chinese-origin goods as of October 2026, with each rate's legal instrument and date.

Section 301 tariffs explained

What Section 301 is, which China lists and rates apply as of October 2026, and which actions are still open.

IEEPA tariffs and tariff refunds

The 2025 IEEPA tariffs, the February 2026 Supreme Court ruling, and how CBP's CAPE refund process works as of October 2026.

Section 232 tariffs

Which Chinese products carry Section 232 national-security tariffs as of October 2026, at what rate and under which proclamation.

De minimis rules for US imports

How the $800 Section 321 de minimis exemption ended for China and then for every country, and what small parcels pay now.

HTS codes explained

How the 10-digit HTSUS code works, how classification is decided, and where China tariffs are reported.

Landed cost calculator for China imports

Calculator and explainer: each input, how China tariff layers stack, and dated MPF and HMF figures.

Customs brokers

What licensed customs brokers do, how they are licensed under 19 CFR 111, and where liability sits.

Customs bonds

How customs bonds work, how CBP sizes them, what a breach costs, and why tariff rises cause insufficiency.

ISF filing (10+2)

The 10+2 data elements, the deadlines, who files, and what a late or wrong ISF costs.

UFLPA explained for importers

The rebuttable presumption, the Entity List, priority sectors and CBP's detention process, dated to October 2026.

Country of origin, origin marking and transshipment

Substantial transformation, origin marking, EAPA evasion cases and 19 U.S.C. 1592 penalties, dated to October 2026.

Duty drawback and foreign-trade zones

Drawback types, TFTEA deadlines, FTZ zone statuses and the 2025-2026 privileged-foreign-status rules, dated to October 2026.

The first sale rule for customs valuation

The legal basis, the three conditions CBP applies, the documents required and why many Chinese factories make it hard.

China export controls: rare earths, licenses and the UEL

The Export Control Law, the critical-mineral controls, the Busan suspension and its expiry, and the Unreliable Entity List.

Shipping and Logistics

9 guides

Incoterms, freight modes, forwarders, transit structure and the production calendar that sits behind every shipment.

Incoterms 2020 explained

The 11 ICC Incoterms 2020 rules, where risk passes under each, and what they do not cover: price, payment, title.

FOB vs EXW when buying from China

EXW and FOB compared: delivery point, risk, export clearance, what each quote includes, and the ICC's FCA alternative.

DDP shipping from China

DDP explained: the Incoterm vs forwarder 'DDP' products, who answers to CBP, and the 2026 importer-of-record rules.

Shipping from China to the USA

How ocean freight moves from China to the US: origin ports, US gateways, routing, filings and the suspended USTR port fees.

China shipping times: what sets the transit time

What determines how long shipping from China takes: route, canal conditions, blank sailings, cut-offs and US clearance.

LCL vs FCL shipping from China

How shared (LCL) and full (FCL) container loads differ in handling, pricing structure, transit risk and US filings.

Air freight from China

How air cargo and express from China are booked, billed by chargeable weight, contracted under any-mode Incoterms and entered.

Freight forwarders and NVOCCs for China imports

Freight forwarders, NVOCCs and FMC licensing: what each status means, the bonds behind it, and how to check one.

Chinese New Year holiday and production planning

Chinese New Year dates for 2026 and 2027, the official holiday versus factory shutdowns, and how to plan orders around both.

China Sourcing Strategy and Alternatives

8 guides

Why so much is made in China, what changed after 2018, and how Vietnam, India and Mexico compare.

Why is everything made in China?

Why so much is made in China: scale, supplier clusters and state support, with 2025 WDI, NBS and Census data.

Made in China 2025: the plan, its ten sectors and its results

Made in China 2025: the 2015 State Council plan, its ten sectors, how it was scored, and the 15th Five-Year Plan.

China Plus One: sourcing alternatives to China

China Plus One explained: how US import origins shifted 2017–2025, how big the alternatives are, and the origin rules.

Vietnam vs China for manufacturing

Vietnam gained US import share fast, but its manufacturing base is about 1/38th of China's (World Bank, 2025).

India vs China for manufacturing

India's PLI scheme drew over ₹2.40 lakh crore by March 2026, but its manufacturing base is about 1/9th of China's.

Nearshoring to Mexico

Mexico is the largest US supplier, but USMCA origin rules and its 2026 tariffs on Chinese inputs shape what qualifies.

Reshoring manufacturing to the US

Reshoring announcements held steady in 2025 while imports from Asia still grew faster than US manufacturing output.

China's manufacturing hubs: the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and their cities

China's manufacturing hubs: what official plans assign to Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Ningbo and Yiwu, with 2025 port data.