US Import Duties on Custom Packaging from China: How They Are Determined (October 2026)

What this guide covers, and what it does not

This is a general explainer for brands that import printed boxes, bags, pouches, labels or tins from China into the United States. It explains how duty is determined so you can ask better questions and budget sensibly. It does not give current duty rates or legal advice. For the full order-to-delivery process, see How to Import Custom Packaging from China, and for turning duty into a per-unit cost, see the landed cost calculator guide.

Step 1: Classification under the HTSUS

The United States International Trade Commission publishes the HTSUS, and CBP decides classification at entry. Packaging items commonly considered by brokers include:

• Heading 4819 for cartons, boxes, cases and bags of paper or paperboard, with separate subheadings for corrugated and non-corrugated board. Folding cartons, mailer boxes and many rigid gift boxes are usually reviewed here.
• Heading 4821 for printed paper labels.
• Heading 3923 for plastic articles used to convey or pack goods, such as many pouches and bags.
• Chapter 73 for steel tin boxes.

Edge cases matter. A jewellery box covered in leatherette or fabric may be reviewed under a different heading from a plain paperboard box. Packaging that arrives already holding your product is generally classified with the product, not separately. When the answer is unclear, your broker can search CBP’s published rulings (the CROSS database) or you can request a binding ruling for your item. A factory can suggest an HS code, but it is a starting point, not a classification decision.

Step 2: Country of origin and marking

Packaging printed and converted in China from materials processed there is normally of Chinese origin, and routing it through a third country does not change that. Origin decides whether China-specific additional duties apply, so declare it accurately.

Origin marking is a separate rule. Under CBP’s country-of-origin marking regulations, disposable containers imported empty for a business to fill are treated differently from containers that are designed for reuse, such as a tin or a keepsake box, which may need marking such as “Container made in China.” Outer shipping cartons are usually marked with the country of origin. Ask your broker which marking your item needs and add it to the artwork before printing.

Step 3: Customs value

The United States generally uses transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods, plus certain additions. In practice for packaging buyers:

• International freight and insurance are generally not part of the dutiable value when they are separately identified on the invoice. A single all-in DDP price makes this harder, so ask for a breakdown.
• Tooling, plates, cutting dies and moulds may need to be included in the customs value, whether paid to the factory or supplied by you. Tell your broker about every one-time charge.
• Samples shipped by courier are also imports and may be dutiable, even at low values (see below).

Step 4: The duty layers (as of October 2026)

For Chinese-origin packaging, your broker typically checks several layers on the entry date:

1. The general (column 1) rate for the HTSUS line.
2. Section 301 additional duties, which apply to many products of China depending on whether the HTSUS line appears on the relevant lists and whether any exclusion applies.
3. Any other additional duties in force on the entry date. In 2025 and 2026 these changed repeatedly: additional tariff measures on goods from China have been introduced, changed, suspended or challenged in court several times, so any rate you read in an article (including older posts) may already be out of date.

Because these layers move, do not rely on a percentage from an article, a forum or an old quote, including older pages on this site. Ask your broker for a written duty estimate tied to the HTSUS line and the planned entry date, and recheck it before the goods ship.

Step 5: Fees, filings and low-value shipments

• CBP fees such as the merchandise processing fee, and the harbor maintenance fee on ocean shipments, are added to most formal entries.
• Importer Security Filing is required for ocean shipments before loading at the origin port, so your forwarder needs shipment details early.
• A customs bond is generally needed for formal entries.
• Low-value shipments. The duty-free “de minimis” treatment for low-value shipments was suspended in 2025 (check its current status with your broker), so courier samples and small cartons can be subject to duty and entry requirements. Confirm the current position before relying on any exemption.

What to ask your packaging supplier for

A clear commercial file helps your broker classify and value the goods correctly. BestPackFactory makes every product in its own factory, quotes from 500 PCS, and can quote FOB, CIF, EXW or DDP. Whatever the term, ask any supplier for:

1. A material breakdown per item: board or film type, coatings, laminates, magnets, ribbons, plastic windows and inserts
2. A suggested HS code, clearly marked as a suggestion
3. Factory name and address for the origin declaration
4. A commercial invoice that separates goods, one-time tooling, freight and insurance
5. A packing list with carton counts, gross weights and volume
6. Samples or photos your broker can use for classification

On a DDP quote, also ask who will be the importer of record, how duties will be calculated and whether you will receive the entry documents.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting with a duty rate copied from an old article or another product.
• Leaving tooling and dies off the commercial invoice.
• Assuming a low-value sample shipment is duty-free.
• Treating the factory’s HS code suggestion as a binding classification.
• Accepting DDP without knowing who is legally the importer.

Official sources to check

• USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule search
• CBP: Marking of country of origin on US imports
• CBP CROSS rulings database

Rules and rates change. These pages are starting points; confirm the position that applies to your shipment with your customs broker or compliance adviser.

Related pages

• Custom packaging boxes
• Custom packaging landed cost calculator
• How to import custom packaging from China
• Packaging Incoterms: FOB, EXW, CIF and DDP
• Contact BestPackFactory