Most consumer goods ship from China to the US without difficulty. The problems cluster in five places: animal products, pressurised containers, branded goods, anything the FDA regulates, and anything nobody can identify.
Below is what we actually move, what we move once the paperwork exists, and what we turn away — with the reason behind each rule. The reason matters more than the rule, because it tells you whether your specific product is affected.
Ships normally
No special documentation beyond an accurate commercial invoice and packing list.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Packaged food | Candy, biscuits, instant noodles, crisps, bread, chocolate, canned fruit, snack foods |
| Beverages | Still drinks, milk tea, herbal tea |
| Dried goods | Tea leaves, dried mushrooms, wood ear fungus, snow fungus, dried vegetables, dried fruit, nuts, peanuts, seeds, red dates |
| Pet supplies | Cat food, dog food, pet supplements — meat-free formulations |
| Personal care | Cosmetics, shampoo, home fragrance, essential oils |
| Traditional medicine | Air-dried Chinese herbal materials, health supplements |
| Adult products | Toys and accessories |
One caveat on food and supplements: commercial shipments are subject to FDA Prior Notice, and the producing facility generally needs to be registered with the FDA. For sample quantities this rarely bites. For a container of retail stock it will. Detail: FDA guide.
Ships with documentation
These move on our lanes regularly. They move after the paperwork exists, not while we wait for it.
| Category | What we need first |
|---|---|
| Branded goods | Written brand authorisation or trademark licence, in the name of the shipper — brand guide |
| Perfume and alcohol-based fragrance | Safety data sheet, alcohol content, packing detail — carries a surcharge |
| Essential oils, liquid cosmetics | Full composition sheet and safety data sheet |
| Cells and batteries | UN38.3 test report, watt-hours, packing instruction — battery guide |
| Magnetic goods | UN38.3 test report, packing instruction |
| Supplements and functional foods | Complete ingredient list, FDA facility registration of the producer — FDA guide |
| Cosmetics for retail sale | Confirmation the manufacturing facility is registered with the FDA and the product is listed — FDA guide |
Foreign cosmetic facilities must be registered with the FDA and designate a US agent. Product listings are required, and import shipments are screened against that data. Non-filers risk detention at the border.
If your factory is not registered, the goods can move but the importer is exposed. Tell us before you book and we will tell you honestly what the risk looks like.
We don’t accept
We turn these away rather than try. Where a shipment of ours is held, it is nearly always because one of these slipped through undeclared.
| Not accepted | Why |
|---|---|
| Meat, eggs, dairy | USDA / APHIS restrictions on animal products. Disease-control rules, not paperwork you can obtain. |
| Pet food containing meat | Same rule. Meat-free formulations are fine. |
| Carbonated drinks, aerosols, pressurised canisters | Pressurised containers are classed as dangerous goods for air transport. |
| Dried goods of Xinjiang origin | UFLPA — UFLPA guide |
| Major-brand goods without authorisation | CBP seizes and destroys suspected counterfeits, and pursues the importer — brand guide |
| Western pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, psychotropics and narcotics | FDA and DEA control. Unapproved drugs are refused entry. |
| Tobacco and alcohol | Federal permits, excise tax and state-level rules. A different business, not a documentation problem. |
| Firearms, ammunition, weapon parts | ATF licensing. |
| Life-size adult dolls | Consistently detained. Not worth the exposure to either side. |
| Unidentified liquids and powders | Cannot be classified, cannot be declared, cannot be defended at an exam. |
Why these rules exist
This is the part most forwarders skip, and it is the part that tells you whether your product is affected.
UFLPA — why Xinjiang origin is a hard stop
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act creates a rebuttable presumption: goods wholly or partly produced in Xinjiang are presumed to be made with forced labour and are barred from entry unless the importer proves otherwise.
Two things make this different from an ordinary customs question:
- The burden of proof is on the importer, not on customs. You have to prove a negative, with supply-chain documentation going back to the raw material.
- It reaches inputs, not just finished goods. Cotton and certain agricultural products are the most enforced. A garment sewn in Guangdong from Xinjiang cotton is within scope.
For dried food and agricultural goods there is usually no practical way to build that evidence at shipment scale. That is why we decline rather than try.
Counterfeits — the risk is asymmetric
Customs does not fine you and release the goods. Suspected counterfeits are seized and destroyed, and the importer of record carries the penalty exposure.
There is no version of this where the downside is limited to the freight. If the goods carry a mark you don’t own, get written authorisation or don’t ship them.
Pressurised containers — an air rule, not a customs rule
Anything under pressure — carbonated drinks, aerosol cans, gas cartridges — is dangerous goods for air transport. This is not about the destination country. It applies from the moment the cargo enters an air network.
FDA — the trap is that nothing looks wrong
Food, supplements, cosmetics and anything making a health claim all sit under FDA authority. The shipment doesn’t look problematic; it simply gets screened against registration data, and if the producing facility isn’t in the system, it is detained.
The goods are fine. The paperwork behind them isn’t. This is the single most common reason a legitimate shipment gets held.
Two billing rules that catch people out
Not restrictions, but they cause more disputes than restrictions do.
Volumetric weight. Freight is billed on the greater of gross weight and volumetric weight. For express lanes, volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 6,000. Light, bulky cargo is charged on the space it occupies.
Minimum chargeable weight per piece. On multi-piece express shipments, each piece carries a minimum chargeable weight of 12 kg. Ten small cartons of 3 kg each are not billed as 30 kg — they are billed as ten pieces at the minimum.
If you are shipping many light cartons, consolidating them into fewer, larger cartons will often cut the bill substantially. Send us the carton breakdown before you pack and we will tell you whether it is worth repacking.
Surcharges also apply for oversize and overweight pieces, remote delivery areas, address corrections and non-standard packaging. These are carrier charges, quoted on your shipment rather than listed here, because they vary by lane and by carrier.
What happens if a shipment is held
Honest version, because you should know before you book rather than after.
If the documentation you supplied is complete and accurate and the goods are still detained, we refund the freight in full and cover the return or destruction cost up to the freight amount.
If the documentation is incomplete or inaccurate — a description that doesn’t match, a declared value that doesn’t match the invoice, a brand without authorisation — our liability is limited to a refund of the freight paid. Cargo value, duty already paid, and return or destruction costs are not covered.
This is why we ask for documents before booking rather than after. The checks exist to keep your goods moving, not to create paperwork.
What to send us for a definitive answer
Product photo, product link, or the commercial invoice description — plus:
- Material and full composition, if it is a liquid, powder or cosmetic
- Whether it carries any brand or logo
- Whether it contains cells, batteries or magnets
- Origin province of the raw material, for agricultural and textile goods
- Destination ZIP code
We will tell you which of the three lists above it falls into, and what it would need.
Not sure where your product sits?
Send the product link. We will give you a straight answer the same working day — including when the answer is “we can’t take this one.” Mon–Sat, 08:00–22:00 China time (GMT+8).