U.S. Customs has groups of import specialists who can help you get started in importing. Import specialists are organized according to commodity specialist teams, which are assigned specific types of goods and are available to respond to any questions you have about U.S. importing rules and regulations.
Import specialists provide information about the proper classification of goods for the purpose of charging duties as well as information regarding specific agency permits, licenses, or certifications. The following table lists each commodity specialist team and its corresponding types of goods for the port of New York and New Jersey.
| Commodity Specialist Team Number | Products |
|---|---|
| 201 | Animals, meat, fish, dairy, trees, plants, vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals, prepared foods, sugars, cocoa, raw hides, skins, fur skins, and articles of fur |
| 202 | Animal products, coffee, tea, lac, gum, resins, vegetable products, fats, oils, edible preparations, beverages, feed, and tobacco |
| 203 | Wood, paper, books, furniture, lighting, art, antiques, stones, ceramics, glass, salt, sulfur, lime, cement, minerals, fuels, glassware, and nonmetallic minerals |
| 204 | Toys, games, sporting goods, musical instruments, arms, and ammunition |
| 206 | Footwear |
| 207 | Gemstones, jewelry, coins; optical products; photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; musical instruments and parts and accessories thereof; clocks and watches and parts thereof |
| 208 | Reactors, machinery, heating and cooling apparatus, machine tools, office machines, valves, bearings, and computers |
| 209 | Transportation products, vehicles (automobiles, trucks, and so on), aircraft, pleasure boats, and civil aircraft equipment |
| 210 | Electrical machinery and devices, consumer electronics, televisions, radios, and tape recorders |
| 211 | Chemicals and chemical products; photographic supplies |
| 212 | Plastics and rubber products |
| 220 | Silk yarn fabric, wool yarn fabric, cotton yarn fabric, other vegetable textile fiber fabric, felt non-woven special yarns, cordage carpets, textile fibers, yarns, cordage, non-woven fabrics, textile furnishings, and miscellaneous textile products |
| 221 | Special wovens, lace, trimmings, embroideries, knitted fabrics |
| 223 | All underwear, nightshirts, nightdresses, pajamas, and headwear |
| 224 | Menswear apparel, boys' apparel in sizes 8 to 20 |
| 225 | Women's knit apparel |
| 226 | Leather articles, travel goods, gloves, mittens and mitts, umbrellas, walking sticks, feathers and down, artificial flowers, and wigs |
| 227 | Iron, steel, articles of iron or steel, copper, nickel, aluminum, tin, lead, zinc, other metals, ores, slag, ash, tools, implements, cutlery, and tableware |
Each district Customs office throughout the U.S. has a division set up with commodity specialists assigned for each group.
Suppose you're interested in importing seafood from Thailand. Looking at this list, you'd contact team 201. But if you want to import paper clips from South Korea, you may look through the list and say, "Great — there's no team for paper clips or office supplies."
If you can't find your item on the list of commodity specialist teams, determine what the primary component of the item is. If the paper clips you want to import are made of steel, you'd contact team 227, which handles articles of iron or steel. On the other hand, if the paper clips are plastic, you'd contact team 212, because it handles plastic and rubber products.
When dealing with ports other than New York and New Jersey, you should identify which port your goods will be entering the country through. You can visit U.S. Customs and Border Protection's website, click the appropriate state, and click the port name to find the necessary contact information. Call the port and ask to speak to the Commodity Specialist Team (CST) that handles the type of merchandise you're importing.
When talking to the commodity specialist team, make sure you provide the complete product description and the country where the goods are coming from. The same product coming from different countries can have different rates of duty and different rules and regulations.