Can I import cargo from Africa to USA

[SmoothGhoster]

For instance could I load up on cashew nuts in Guinea-Bissau and bring them back to South Carolina to defer cruising cost. 2500 pounds of cashews or some other dense value cargo. Who would I tell who would want to know? just curious anybody import anything?

[AKA-None]

I don’t know much but that sounds like more than personal consumption. Someone will want tax on it even if it’s allowed to come into port.

[Montanan]

FYI.

In addition to the custom's duties that will be invoked when the goods are declared upon entry to the USA, there is the multitude of Food and Drug Administration matters to contend with. It becomes quite technical.

Reference: https://usacustomsclearance.com/proc...-need-to-know/

Once laboratory testing from health and FDA safety officials receives a passing grade, the food import customs clearance process can begin in earnest. Nutty for Nuts
Countries have different importing requirements for edible fruit and nuts. This includes melons and peels of citrus. Nuts are more versatile and come from more countries around the world. A certificate of origin is needed for all edible fruits and nuts. In particular, these are the nutty mainstays:

South American countries: Brazil nuts
Africa: Cashews
Africa, India and Vietnam: Spanish pine nuts and Guatemalan macadamias
Food Import Penalization
If any fruit and nut imports do not meet food import process qualifications, those foods can be destroyed or removed from the country. Fines can incur, as well as costs involved with shipping the food imports back to the country of origin. Avoid these issues by hiring a Licensed Customs Brokers to make sure all of your import paper is correct and your American food imports timeline is not delayed.

Under provisions of the U.S. law contained in the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe, sanitary, and labeled according to U.S. requirements. (All imported food is considered to be interstate commerce.)

FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments. Importers can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA.

Imported food products are subject to FDA inspection when offered for import at U.S. ports of entry. FDA may detain shipments of products offered for import if the shipments are found not to be in compliance with U.S. requirements. Both imported and domestically-produced foods must meet the same legal requirements in the United States.

For an overview of the U.S. Import Program, please visit the links provided below. https://www.fda.gov/food/importing-f...imported-foods

Procedures and Requirements for Importing Food Products
In addition to meeting the requirements of U.S. food regulations including food facility registration, importers must follow U.S. import procedures as well as the requirements of Prior Notice.

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act) directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the food regulatory agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, to take additional steps to protect the public from a threatened or actual terrorist attack on the U.S. food supply and other food-related emergencies.

Along with other provisions, the Act requires that FDA receive prior notification of food, including animal feed that is imported or offered for import into the United States. Advance notice of import shipments allows FDA, with the support of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to target import inspections more effectively and help protect that nation's food supply against terrorist acts and other public health emergencies.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed January 4th, 2011 aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it. On May 5, 2011 the FDA published an interim final rule requiring that a person submitting prior notice of imported food, including food for animals, to report the name of any country to which the article has been refused entry. The new information can help FDA make better informed decisions in managing potential risks of imported food into the United States.

[SmoothGhoster]

Originally Posted by Montanan

FYI.

In addition to the custom's duties that will be invoked when the goods are declared upon entry to the USA, there is the multitude of Food and Drug Administration matters to contend with. It becomes quite technical.

Reference: https://usacustomsclearance.com/proc...-need-to-know/

Once laboratory testing from health and FDA safety officials receives a passing grade, the food import customs clearance process can begin in earnest. Nutty for Nuts
Countries have different importing requirements for edible fruit and nuts. This includes melons and peels of citrus. Nuts are more versatile and come from more countries around the world. A certificate of origin is needed for all edible fruits and nuts. In particular, these are the nutty mainstays:

South American countries: Brazil nuts
Africa: Cashews
Africa, India and Vietnam: Spanish pine nuts and Guatemalan macadamias
Food Import Penalization
If any fruit and nut imports do not meet food import process qualifications, those foods can be destroyed or removed from the country. Fines can incur, as well as costs involved with shipping the food imports back to the country of origin. Avoid these issues by hiring a Licensed Customs Brokers to make sure all of your import paper is correct and your American food imports timeline is not delayed.

Under provisions of the U.S. law contained in the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe, sanitary, and labeled according to U.S. requirements. (All imported food is considered to be interstate commerce.)

FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments. Importers can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA.

Imported food products are subject to FDA inspection when offered for import at U.S. ports of entry. FDA may detain shipments of products offered for import if the shipments are found not to be in compliance with U.S. requirements. Both imported and domestically-produced foods must meet the same legal requirements in the United States.

For an overview of the U.S. Import Program, please visit the links provided below. https://www.fda.gov/food/importing-f...imported-foods

Procedures and Requirements for Importing Food Products
In addition to meeting the requirements of U.S. food regulations including food facility registration, importers must follow U.S. import procedures as well as the requirements of Prior Notice.

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act) directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the food regulatory agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, to take additional steps to protect the public from a threatened or actual terrorist attack on the U.S. food supply and other food-related emergencies.

Along with other provisions, the Act requires that FDA receive prior notification of food, including animal feed that is imported or offered for import into the United States. Advance notice of import shipments allows FDA, with the support of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to target import inspections more effectively and help protect that nation's food supply against terrorist acts and other public health emergencies.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed January 4th, 2011 aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it. On May 5, 2011 the FDA published an interim final rule requiring that a person submitting prior notice of imported food, including food for animals, to report the name of any country to which the article has been refused entry. The new information can help FDA make better informed decisions in managing potential risks of imported food into the United States.

wonder what the fine is

[mabowers]

The good news is, Customs duty on Cashews is only $0.044 / Kg

2013 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Chapt 8

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by SmoothGhoster

wonder what the fine is

Seriously don't even think about going there. And sure as hell don't post threads contemplating illegal activity on the CruisersForum.

The volume and value you are indicating as to the cashews ill mean the violation is of commercial nature and not of a personal nature, e.g., personal items would be such as the low value gift you bought, an item of clothing, or the duty free liquor you bought at the departing airport. Failure to declare items of personal nature are subject to the following penalties.

19 USC § 1497. Penalties for failure to declare
(a) In general

(1) Any article which—

(A) is not included in the declaration and entry as made or transmitted; and

(B) is not mentioned before examination of the baggage begins—

(i) in writing by such person, if written declaration and entry was required, or

(ii) orally, if written declaration and entry was not required;

shall be subject to forfeiture and such person shall be liable for a penalty determined under paragraph (2) with respect to such article.

(2) The amount of the penalty imposed under paragraph (1) with respect to any article is equal to—

(A) if the article is a controlled substance, either $500 or an amount equal to 1,000 percent of the value of the article, whichever amount is greater; AND
(B) if the article is not a controlled substance, also the value of the article.

So you will be out the imported item as it will be forfeited, plus a fine totallig 1,100 percent of the value of the article.

There are two possible scenarios.

Scenario 1: You’re transporting this contraband product in non-commercial values (less than $2,500).
If you don’t declare your contraband products or give false information, you will most certainly face consequences. According to section 592 of Customs Law, a fine of $300 will be given as a “spot penalty” for the non-declaration of a forbidden non-agricultural product, and the product will be confiscated. French Morning reached out to CBP for further commentary on this topic. CBP spokesperson Jason Givens added that travelers who refuse to pay the fine can ask to choose to have a hearing. “However, if there is a hearing the penalty could increase to $1,000 or more, depending on the item,” said Givens.

As for forbidden agricultural products (fruits and vegetables, meat and all food made from animal and vegetable byproducts), which are susceptible to transporting parasites, if you forget to declare, make an error in your declaration, or don’t declare at all, you can be charged with a civil penalty of up to $10,000.

Scenario 2: You’re transporting commercial quantities (more than $2,500 dollars).
In this case, the CBP uses article 542 — a section of title 18 in the United States Code of Law. Under article 542, a person transporting commercial qualities of undeclared goods can be charged with the criminal penalty of money laundering, and illegal or attempted illegal importing, punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine, or both. The criminal fine is up to $500,000 or twice the value of the contraband non-declared products, whichever is greater.

The fines don’t stop there. In additional to the criminal penalty, there is a civil penalty of up to $10,000, or the value of the contraband non-declared product, whichever is greater.

[SmoothGhoster]

Originally Posted by mabowers

The good news is, Customs duty on Cashews is only $0.044 / Kg

2013 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Chapt 8

that's only $110 for my 2500 pound load or $220 if I could haul 5000 pounds. If I roasted the nuts before I head back they would be lighter too.

[john61ct]

If you go to all the trouble to startup a business qualified to do this legally, in order to cover your time & trouble you'd want to be importing multipl 40' container loads per month, or maybe more.

Not the sort of business to get into as a casual sideline, and certainly not sailing the loads yourself.

[SmoothGhoster]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If you go to all the trouble to startup a business qualified to do this legally, in order to cover your time & trouble you'd want to be importing multipl 40' container loads per month, or maybe more.

Not the sort of business to get into as a casual sideline, and certainly not sailing the loads yourself.

I'll sell my carbon neutral cashews for $15 a pound. That's $75,000 per trip

[pt49]

My Dad was going to buy tens of thousands of potato peelers and sail the South East Asian and Pacific Islands selling them after World War II...
The ideas we come up with when travelling, even in times of war.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by SmoothGhoster

I'll sell my carbon neutral cashews for $15 a pound. That's $75,000 per trip

That does not contradict what I posted, and I stand by that.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by pt49

potato peelers

ROFL, to all those European expats. . .

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by SmoothGhoster

I'll sell my carbon neutral cashews for $15 a pound. That's $75,000 per trip

That's a pretty optimistic wholesale price. Try more like usd$2-4 for a kilo.

[john61ct]

But he'll be selling by the bag down at his slip in the Palm Beach marina 8-)

And of course people will pay through the nose for Organic, Gluten Free, Fair Trade sourced, and Carbon Neutral transported cashews!

[SmoothGhoster]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That's a pretty optimistic wholesale price. Try more like usd$2-4 for a kilo.

I don't know man cashews are pretty high and carbon free cashews that were hand picked and sorted by indigenous africans before being roasted and loaded onto a Catalina 36 for carbon free transport to America. I could sail direct to NYC rather than South Carolina and get $30 a pound. That's $150,000