If you are arriving from anywhere other than a U .S .
insular possession (U .S . Virgin Islands, American
Samoa, or Guam) you may bring back $800 worth of
items duty free, as long as you bring them with you .
This is called accompanied baggage .
For Caribbean Basin or Andean countries, your exemp-
tion is also $800 . These countries include:
Antigua and Barbuda
Guatemala
Aruba
Guyana
Bahamas
Haiti
Barbados
Honduras
Belize
Jamaica
Bolivia
Montserrat
British Virgin Island
Netherlands Antilles
Colombia
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Dominica
Peru
Dominican Republic
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Ecuador
Saint Lucia
El Salvador
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Grenada
Trinidad and Tobago
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Know Before You Go
You may include two liters of alcoholic beverages with
this $800 exemption, as long as one of the liters was
produced in one of the countries listed above (see sec-
tion on Sending Purchases from Insular Possessions
and Caribbean Basin or Andean Countries) .
Depending on what items you’re bringing back from
your trip, you could come home with more than $800
worth of gifts or purchases and still not be charged
duty . For instance, say you received a $700 bracelet as
a gift, and you bought a $40 hat and a $60 color print .
Because these items total $800, you would not be
charged duty, since you have not exceeded your duty-
free exemption . If you had also bought a $500 painting
on that trip, you could bring all $1,300 worth of mer-
chandise home without having to pay duty, because
fine art is duty-free .
$1,600 Exemption
If you return directly or indirectly from a U .S . insular
possession (U .S . Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or
Guam), you are allowed a $1,600 duty-free exemption .
If you travel to a U .S . insular possession and to one
or more of the Caribbean Basin or Andean countries
listed above, let’s say on a Caribbean cruise, you may
bring back $1,600 worth of items without paying duty,
but only $800 worth of these items may come from
the Caribbean Basin or Andean country or countries .
Any amount beyond $800 will be dutiable unless you
acquired it in one of the insular possessions . For exam-
ple, if you were to travel to the U .S . Virgin Islands and
Jamaica, you would be allowed to bring back $1,600
worth of merchandise duty free, as long as only $800
worth was acquired in Jamaica .
Also, you may include 1,000 cigarettes as part of the
$1,600 exemption, but at least 800 of them must have
been acquired in an insular possession . Only 200 ciga-
rettes may have been acquired elsewhere . For example,
if you were touring the South Pacific and you stopped
in Tahiti, American Samoa, and other ports of call, you
could bring back five cartons of cigarettes, but four of
them would have to have been bought in American
Samoa .
Know Before You Go
15
Similarly, you may include five liters of alcoholic bev-
erages in your duty-free exemption, but one of them
must be a product of an insular possession . Four may
be products of other countries (see section on Sending
Purchases from Insular Possessions and Caribbean
Basin countries) .
For Frequent Travelers
If you cross the U .S . border into a foreign country and
reenter the United States more than once in a short
time, you may not want to use your personal exemp-
tion until you have returned to the United States for
the last time . This is due to the “once every 30 days
rule”—you can only apply your personal exemption
once every 30 days .
So as an example, you go to Canada, buy a liter of liquor,
reenter the United States, then go back to Canada and
buy $900 worth of merchandise and more liquor . You
would probably want to save your $800 exemption for
those final purchases and not use it for that first liter of
liquor . In this case, on your first swing-back, simply tell
the CBP officer that you want to pay duty on the liquor,
even though you could bring it in duty free .
Duty-Free or Reduced Rates
Items from Certain Countries
The United States gives duty preferences—that is, free
or reduced rates—to certain developing countries
under a trade program called the Generalized System
of Preferences (GSP) . Some products that would oth-
erwise be dutiable are not when they come from a
GSP country . (For details on this program, as well as
the complete list of GSP countries, please look for it
on the CBP Web site .
Similarly:
• Many products of Caribbean and Andean
countries are exempt from duty under the
Caribbean Basin Initiative, Caribbean Basin
Trade Partnership Act, Andean Trade Preference
Act and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug
Eradication Act .
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Know Before You Go
• Many products of certain sub-Saharan African
countries are exempt from duty under the
African Growth and Opportunity Act .
• Most products of Israel, Jordan, Chile and
Singapore may also enter the United States
either free of duty or at a reduced rate under the
U .S . free trade agreements with those countries .
Check www.cbp.gov for details on these programs .
• The North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) went into effect in 1994 . If you are
returning from Canada or Mexico, your goods
are eligible for free or reduced duty rates if they
were grown, manufactured, or produced in
Canada or Mexico, as defined by the Act .
Additional information on these programs can be
found on the CBP Web site at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/
trade_programs/international_agreements/special_trade_pro-
grams/
Household Effects
Household effects are duty-free . These include such
items as furniture, carpets, paintings, tableware, ste-
reos, linens, and similar household furnishings; tools
of the trade, professional books, implements, and
instruments .
You may import household effects you acquired
abroad duty-free if:
• You used them for at least one year while you
were abroad .
• They are not intended for anyone else or for sale.
Clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, portable
radios, and vehicles are considered personal effects
and cannot be brought in duty-free as household
effects . However, duty is usually waived on personal
effects more than one year of age . All vehicles are
dutiable .
Know Before You Go
17
Increased Duty Rates
Items from Certain Countries
Under what is known as its “301” authority, the
United States may impose a much higher than nor-
mal duty rate on products from certain countries .
Currently, the United States has imposed a 100 percent
rate of duty on certain products of Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, The Federal Republic of
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Ukraine .
If you should bring more of any of these products
back with you than fall within your exemption or flat
rate of duty, (see below) you will pay as much in duty
as you paid for the product or products .
While most of the products listed are not the type of
goods that travelers would purchase in sufficient quan-
tities to exceed their exemption, diamonds from the
Ukraine are subject to the 100 percent duty and might
easily exceed the exemption amount .
For information on countries that may become subject
to a higher than normal duty rate, check the Department
of Commerce Web site at www.commerce.gov.
Determining Duty
The CBP officer will place the items that have the high-
est rate of duty under your exemption . Then, after
subtracting your exemptions and the value of any duty-
free items, a flat rate of duty will be charged on the
next $1,000 worth of merchandise . Any dollar amount
beyond this $1,000 will be dutiable at whatever duty
rates apply . The flat rate of duty may only be used
for items for your own use or for gifts . As with your
exemption, you may use the flat rate provision only
once every 30 days . Special flat rates of duty apply to
items made and acquired in Canada or Mexico . The
flat rate of duty applies to only to those purchases that
accompany you on your return to the United States .
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Know Before You Go
The following is an example of the different rates if you
acquire goods valued at $3,500 from various different
places:
Country
Total
Personal
Flat duty
Various
declared
exemption
rate
duty
value
(duty free)
rates
U .S . insular
$3,500
$1,600
$1,000 at
$900
possessions
1 .5 percent
Caribbean
$3,500
$800
$1,000 at
$1,700
Basin