How a Customs Broker Can Help Your Business

If your business is currently involved in, or is looking to expand into, international shipping, it’s high time you consider hiring a professional customs broker. The job of a customs broker is to help you navigate the vast and ever-changing sea that is the international trade business. Whether you are importing raw materials from overseas, exporting finished products to distribution centers overseas, or anything in between, this article will explain how a customs broker can help your business.

For this piece, we will draw on information provided by a company based on the West Coast in the United States, who cater to clients from all over the country and the world. You can check out more information on them on their site: https://www.packair.com/customs-broker-long-beach/

Without further ado, lets jump into the article!

We also encourage you to check out this video that does a pretty good job explaining what a customs broker is and how they can help you!

A Customs Broker Saves You Headaches

There’s a reason that customs brokerage firms need to be licensed in order to handle customs services on your behalf: it’s a complicated job! The primary role of your customs broker is to remain up to date on the laws, regulations, and guidelines pertaining to the transfer of goods across borders. And not just U.S. borders. A customs broker needs to not only ensure that your goods enter and leave American soil on the level, but that shipments are also following all of the laws for their source or destination countries. If you want to learn about how customs brokers can help get past the red tape (or ask a real one), you can read more at packair.com.

You can imagine how much of a headache that would be to handle in house, especially if you want to branch out throughout the globe. Every new country would involve researching the regulations in house, establishing connections overseas, and filling out exactly the right forms. By outsourcing to a long trusted customs brokerage firm, you can spend your internal resources on more important tasks.

Faster Customs Processing

Nothing kills product fulfillment faster than the inefficient processes of a government agency. When your goods get “stuck in customs” due to a misfiled report or lack of clearance, your business can stall for weeks at a time. For example, did you know that certain types of information about certain types of goods need to be formally declared, or that goods valued over $2,500 also need a formal entry. Failure to provide this vital information the first time around could land your property in customs jail. A customs broker, on the other hand, knows exactly what needs to be declared and when, so you can be assured that your production line won’t stall out it customs.

NAFTA Made Simple

NAFTA is the North-American Free Trade Agreement, and it potentially provides vast savings on the import of specific goods, but only if they meet strict requirements. Much like a good tax accountant will find you all of the credits and deductions that you can qualify for, your customs broker has the knowledge to help you qualify for as many NAFTA savings as possible.