Since the year 2010 when it overtook the United States, it is no longer news that China has become the world’s leading nation in terms of manufacturing. The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) released data that estimated China’s contribution to global manufacturing in 2019 at a massive 28.7 percent. This has turned the attention of many ambitious entrepreneurs to the East where the most populous nation on earth presents itself as an irresistible manufacturing market.

On the other hand, the trade war between the US and China – which has seen both parties slap heavy tariffs on each other’s goods has made it economically difficult to import goods directly from China, and by extension frustrating the efforts of American businesses that are trying to explore the Chinese market.

So, how can the American entrepreneurs that want to take advantage of the booming Chinese market beat the harsh economic demands of direct importation from China? The answer is in taking Canada as a smart China-to-US route and leveraging Section 321 and Canadian Fulfillment.

What is Section 321 and how does it work?

Section 321 is one of the most common US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statutes known by ecommerce businesses. Introduced in 2019, the section authorizes low-value merchandise below the minimum of $800 to be exempted from paying custom duties or taxes.

What does Canadian fulfillment mean?

Canadian fulfillment companies are third-party companies in Canada that receive and provide warehousing and logistic services, as well as handle the shipping processes, checking in imported stock for business organizations, and helping them to deliver orders directly to their customers. Their delivery service makes sure the processing and shipping of orders to the US are carried out on the same day just as would be the case from a store in the States.

How do you take full advantage of Section 321 through Canadian fulfillment?

As mentioned above, Section 321 is a bridge for direct importation from China to the US. It is important to note, however, Section 321 alone, is not enough. There are certain conditions and best practices that could make the process tedious and difficult for business owners to ship their goods through the border. These conditions, if not complied with, may also lead to serious punishments and delays in shipment.

Here is how you as an entrepreneur that has an ecommerce business can take advantage of Canadian fulfillment, maximize the benefits of section 321 and bypass its constraints:

1. Importers are only allowed to claim Section 321 once daily. If you are going to be importing goods that are worth above the $800 value threshold (which is very likely), this means you will not be able to ship your entire goods through the US border all at once. As an entrepreneur, using the services of a Canadian fulfillment company will aid in maintaining business-to-customer and business-to-business delivery operations across the border at an economy-friendly cost, and without having to worry about the import duty and tax.

2. Apart from the daily limit, the logistic effort of receiving very large ecommerce shipments from China, shipping them to the U.S., and the cost of transporting them to your warehouse could be very overwhelming and unnecessary. E-commerce business owners have settled with using the warehousing services of Canadian fulfillment to save cost and prevent stress.

3. An entrepreneur that does not have to worry about the logistic and warehousing aspect of their business would have the opportunity of focusing on other things.

Summarily, leveraging on Section 321 through Canadian fulfillment can help entrepreneurs conveniently maximize their exploits in the Chinese market without feeling the economic heat of the trade war.