DDP Sea Freight from China to USA: A Small Importer's Guide
DDP Shipping Guide If you are a small importer in the United States, DDP sea freight can take most of the operational weight off your shoulders. Instead of juggling a factory, a forwarder, a customs broker, a trucker, and a bond company, you deal with one party and pay one price. This guide explains exactly what DDP covers, what it does not, the one filing rule that catches most first-time importers, and how to tell a real US DDP provider from one that will cost you more than it saves. The short version DDP = Delivered Duty Paid. Your forwarder handles China export clearance, ocean freight, US ISF filing, customs clearance, duties, taxes, and delivery to your warehouse. You get one all-inclusive price and know your landed cost before the container ever sails. No import license, no customs bond, no in-house compliance team required from you 鈥� the forwarder's US entity acts as Importer of Record. ISF is the trap. It must be filed 24 hours before the vessel loads in China, not b...