Importing into the USA with a Foreign-Owned US Company (2026): Importer of Record, Customs Bond, CBP Form 5106, ISF, Customs Value, Country of Origin, FDA and CPSC Rules, Duties After the Tariff Rulings, and Amazon FBA Shipments

For many foreign founders, a US company exists to sell physical goods in America: a skincare brand from Seoul, kitchenware from Mumbai, apparel from Istanbul, furniture from Vietnam. Before those goods reach a warehouse or an Amazon fulfilment centre, someone has to bring them through US Customs, and that someone, the importer of record, is legally responsible for the classification, the value, the country of origin, the duties and compliance with every product rule.

Until 2025, a lot of small sellers never thought about this, because parcels worth $800 or less entered duty-free under the "de minimis" rule. That treatment has been suspended for every country since August 2025, and tariffs have changed several times since. Importing is now a core part of running a US product business, and the choice of importer of record affects cost, risk and even your income tax position.

This guide explains how importing works for a foreign-owned US company and how to set it up properly. For the wider picture of selling online, see the e-commerce sellers guide.

In short: The importer of record (IOR) is the party legally responsible for an import. A foreign-owned US company can be IOR using its EIN, after a CBP Form 5106 creates its importer record, with a customs bond (a continuous bond of at least US$50,000 or 10% of the previous year's duties, taxes and fees, or single-entry bonds). Ocean shipments need an Importer Security Filing at least 24 hours before loading. With de minimis suspended, every shipment, however small, goes through an entry and pays duty. Duty is based on classification, customs value and country of origin, and rates have changed repeatedly since 2025, so check them with a licensed customs broker before you price. Products regulated by FDA, CPSC, FCC or USDA need their own registrations and documents. Amazon will not act as IOR: your company, your supplier or a logistics provider must.

Who can be importer of record

For most foreign founders with a US LLC or corporation, the US company as IOR is the cleanest: it owns the goods when they arrive, it sells them, and the paperwork matches its books and its Amazon or Shopify account.

The income tax angle

If your foreign company is the importer and owner of goods held in US warehouses and sold to US customers, it may be engaged in a US trade or business and have effectively connected income, even if you also have a US company. Keeping the import and the sale in the US company keeps the US business in one place, with arm's-length prices between your home company and the US company. See effectively connected income explained and US subsidiary for a foreign company.

Setting up your US company as importer

1. The EIN and CBP Form 5106

US Customs identifies importers by an importer number. For a US company, it is the company's EIN followed by two extra digits. Before the first import, your customs broker files CBP Form 5106 to create the importer record, with the company's name, addresses and EIN. No SSN or ITIN is needed. See EIN for non-residents.

A foreign company without an EIN gets a CBP-assigned number through the same form.

2. A customs bond

Every formal entry needs a bond, a guarantee from a surety that duties, fees and penalties will be paid.

• Continuous bond: covers all entries for a year. The minimum is generally US$50,000, or 10% of the duties, taxes and fees paid in the previous 12 months if higher. The premium is typically a few hundred dollars a year for small importers, more for higher amounts or riskier goods.
• Single-entry bond: covers one shipment, usually the value of the goods plus duties (more for goods regulated by other agencies). It suits one or two shipments a year.

Sureties are stricter with new, foreign-owned companies and may ask for financial information or collateral. Your broker arranges the bond.

3. A licensed customs broker

A customs broker files your entries with CBP, classifies goods, calculates duties and coordinates with partner agencies. Almost every small importer uses one. You give the broker a power of attorney (CBP Form 5291 or the broker's own form). Many freight forwarders have in-house brokers.

4. A US address and bank account

CBP and the surety need a US address for the company. A US business address, not just the registered agent's address, makes the record and the bond application cleaner. Duties are paid through your broker or by ACH from the company's US account. See US business address explained.

What happens to a shipment

Ocean freight: the Importer Security Filing

For goods arriving by sea, the importer must file an Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2") at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded on the vessel abroad. It lists the seller, buyer, manufacturer, ship-to party, country of origin, tariff numbers and container stuffing location. Late or inaccurate ISF filings can carry penalties of US$5,000 per violation. Your broker or forwarder files it, but needs the data from you and your supplier in time.

The entry

When goods arrive, the broker files an entry (CBP Form 3461 for release and Form 7501 entry summary, electronically):

• Formal entry is required for most shipments valued above US$2,500, and needs a bond.
• Informal entry covers lower-value shipments, often filed by express carriers on your behalf.

Before August 2025, shipments valued at US$800 or less could enter under de minimis with no duty. That treatment is suspended for all countries, and the suspension has survived the court rulings on tariffs. A law passed in 2025 also repeals the exemption from July 2027. In practice, every parcel now pays duty and processing fees, which hits dropshippers and sellers shipping individual orders from abroad hardest.

Fees

Besides duty, most imports pay:

• the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF), a percentage of value with a minimum and maximum per formal entry;
• the Harbor Maintenance Fee, 0.125% of value for ocean shipments;
• broker fees, bond costs, and, for small parcels, carrier clearance fees.

After the entry

CBP can review the entry for about a year before it becomes final (liquidation). If you find an error, a post-summary correction can fix it before liquidation. After liquidation, you can protest a decision within 180 days. CBP requires import records to be kept for five years.

What decides the duty

Classification

Every product has a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code, which sets the base duty rate. Classification depends on what the product is, its materials and its function. Getting it wrong is the most common source of duty underpayment and penalties. Ask your broker for a classification before the first shipment, and for complex products consider a binding ruling from CBP.

Customs value

The usual basis is the transaction value: the price actually paid for the goods when sold for export to the USA, plus certain additions (such as assists, royalties tied to the goods, and packing). The USA values goods broadly on a free-on-board basis: international freight and insurance are generally not part of the dutiable value if shown separately.

If your US company buys from your own foreign company, the price must be at arm's length for customs as well as for income tax, and CBP can question related-party prices. Customs and income tax pull in opposite directions: a high transfer price reduces US income tax but increases duty. Plan the pricing with both in mind.

Country of origin

Duty depends on where goods were made, not where they were shipped from. Origin is generally the country where the product was last substantially transformed into a new article. Shipping Chinese-made goods through another country, or doing minor assembly there, does not change their origin, and transshipment to avoid duties is heavily penalised. Origin markings on the goods must be accurate.

Tariffs in 2026

US tariff policy has changed repeatedly:

• In February 2026, the Supreme Court held that the emergency-powers law used for the 2025 "reciprocal" tariffs does not authorise tariffs. Replacement surcharges were imposed under a different law, and expired in July 2026.
• New duties under Section 301 took effect in July 2026 on imports from many countries, alongside the long-standing Section 301 tariffs on many Chinese goods and Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminium, copper, vehicles and other sectors.
• Questions of refunds for tariffs paid under the invalidated measures are being decided through the courts and CBP processes.

Rates can change with little notice and differ by country and product. Treat any figure older than a few weeks as out of date: get current rates from your broker before you price a product or place an order, and build a margin for change.

Product rules: partner government agencies

Many products need approvals beyond Customs. CBP enforces them at the border on behalf of other agencies:

• FDA: food, beverages, supplements, cosmetics, medical devices, and some electronic products. Food facilities must be registered, food imports need prior notice, cosmetics have registration and listing duties under MoCRA, and devices need registration and often clearance.
• CPSC: consumer products, especially children's products, which need testing and a Children's Product Certificate; many other products need a General Certificate of Conformity.
• FCC: electronics that emit radio frequencies need equipment authorisation.
• USDA and APHIS: plants, wood packaging, animal products and some agricultural goods.
• EPA, TTB, NHTSA and others for chemicals, alcohol, vehicles and parts.

Non-compliant goods can be held, refused or destroyed, and marketplaces remove listings that lack the required documents. Check your product's requirements before the first order.

Incoterms and who pays what

The Incoterms in your purchase contract decide who arranges and pays for each stage:

• EXW or FOB: your US company arranges the freight and is IOR. The most control, and the usual choice for brands.
• CIF or CFR: the supplier pays sea freight to a US port; your company handles import.
• DAP: the supplier delivers to your door, but your company is IOR and pays duty.
• DDP: the supplier delivers duty paid and is IOR. Simple, but the supplier carries the import liability and you have little visibility of the declared values.

Amazon FBA and fulfilment centres

Amazon does not act as importer of record and does not accept shipments listing Amazon as the IOR or consignee for customs purposes. For FBA:

• your US company (or your supplier or forwarder) is the IOR;
• the goods clear customs at the port, then go to Amazon's fulfilment centres, often through a forwarder's warehouse for labelling and preparation;
• your listing, invoices, customs value and books should all show the same products, prices and company.

See the e-commerce sellers guide for FBA tax and sales tax questions.

Worked examples

These are illustrative cases, not client cases.

A Korean skincare brand. A Delaware corporation owned by a cosmetics company in Seoul imports serums by air to a 3PL in New Jersey. It is the IOR with a continuous bond, files CBP Form 5106 through its broker, and registers its products under the FDA's cosmetics rules before the first shipment. The US company buys from the Korean parent at arm's-length prices, which the broker uses as customs value.

A home-goods seller from India on Amazon. A Wyoming LLC owned by two founders in Jaipur imports block-printed cushion covers and table linen by sea. The broker files the ISF from the supplier's data before loading, classifies the textiles, and the LLC pays duty on the FOB value. The goods go to a forwarder in Los Angeles for FBA labels, then to Amazon. The LLC's books show the inventory, duties and freight as cost of goods.

A dropshipper rethinking the model. A US LLC owned from Vietnam shipped individual orders from a supplier in Shenzhen under de minimis. With every parcel now paying duty and carrier fees, and Chinese-origin goods carrying extra tariffs, the owner moves to bulk imports into a US warehouse, with the LLC as IOR, and recalculates prices with current rates.

Common mistakes

• Assuming Amazon or the supplier "handles customs" without a clear IOR.
• Pricing products without current duty rates, or using rates from before the 2026 changes.
• Undervaluing goods on the commercial invoice, which is a serious violation.
• Getting the country of origin wrong, or routing goods through another country to change it.
• Missing the ISF deadline for ocean shipments.
• Ignoring FDA, CPSC or FCC rules until goods are held at the port.
• Letting your foreign company import and sell in the USA without considering its US income tax position.
• Not keeping import records for five years.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign-owned US LLC be importer of record? Yes. It uses its EIN, files CBP Form 5106 through a broker, and needs a customs bond.

Do I need an SSN or ITIN to import? No. The company's EIN is enough.

Do I need a customs bond? Yes, for formal entries, generally shipments over US$2,500. Choose a continuous bond for regular imports, or single-entry bonds for occasional ones.

Are small parcels still duty-free? No. De minimis treatment has been suspended for all countries since August 2025, and the law repeals it from July 2027.

Can Amazon be my importer of record? No. Your company, your supplier or a logistics provider must be.

Who should pay the duty, my US company or my supplier? Usually your US company, under EXW, FOB or DAP terms, so it controls the declarations. DDP puts the import liability on the supplier.

How UCB can help

We form the US company that imports and sells your goods, with the EIN your broker needs for CBP Form 5106, a US business address and a bank account application, and we file its US returns every year through our US tax filing service. For classification, bonds and entries, work with a licensed customs broker; we can coordinate the company documents they need. See our formation, EIN and bank account package.

Importing into the USA through your own company? WhatsApp us at +1 315 961 2956 or email enquiries@ucbsolutions.com.