US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the United States' border and customs authority, part of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for clearing goods and people entering the US, assessing and collecting customs duties, and enforcing US trade, safety and security laws at ports of entry. For trade, CBP administers the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), import entry and valuation, origin and trade agreements (such as USMCA), and a wide range of controls.
Importers file entries electronically through CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) single window, and must comply with requirements like the Importer Security Filing (ISF/10+2) for ocean cargo and post a customs bond. CBP also enforces trade-remedy duties (antidumping/countervailing), forced-labor and IP rules, and runs trusted-trader programs (C-TPAT). As the gateway to the world's largest import market, CBP's rules, entry processes and enforcement shape the cost, speed and compliance of trade with the United States. Understanding CBP is essential to importing into the US and to North American trade generally. It governs the US border and its vast import trade.
CBP is the gateway to the world's largest import market — its HTSUS classification, ACE entries, ISF, bonds, USMCA and trade-remedy enforcement shape the cost, speed and compliance of all US trade. For anyone importing into the US or trading in North America, understanding CBP's rules and processes is fundamental.
What does CBP administer for trade?
The US tariff schedule (HTSUS), import entry and valuation, origin and trade agreements like USMCA, plus ISF, customs bonds and trade-remedy and security enforcement.
How are US entries filed?
Electronically through CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the US single window for trade.