The paperwork chain, in order
An ocean or air shipment of sneakers arrives at the US border as a set of documents long before it arrives as cartons. The chain is short and everyone in it has one job. The commercial invoice states what is being sold and to whom. The packing list states what is physically in each carton - model, color, size run, pieces - which receiving and customs both read. The transport document, a bill of lading for sea or an airway bill for air, is the contract of carriage. And the entry itself is filed by a licensed customs broker, who classifies the goods and declares them to CBP. The desk prepares the export side - invoice, packing list, carton marking, and accurate material composition for classification - and the buyer's broker files the entry. The chain works when each document agrees with the others; it fails slowly and expensively when they do not.
That last point is the desk's main contribution to shipping: consistency. The marking on the carton, the line on the packing list and the composition behind the classification should tell one story about the same shoe - and when a buyer's receiving team, broker and storefront all read documents that agree, the shipment moves as routine rather than as a case.
Chapter 64, in plain words
Footwear entering the United States is classified under HTS chapter 64, and the sorting logic inside the chapter starts with the upper material. That is convenient for footwear buyers, because you already know your uppers - they are on the spec sheet. The chapter's main headings, indicatively:
| Heading | Uppers of | Where the desk's range tends to fall |
|---|---|---|
| 6402 | Rubber or plastics | Sandals and slides with synthetic footbeds |
| 6403 | Leather | Casual leather sneakers with leather uppers |
| 6404 | Textile | Everyday runners, court trainers, canvas court shoes |
The table is indicative, not authoritative. Chapter 64 has more structure inside it than upper material alone - construction, sole material and other details all play - and the binding classification for your program is a customs broker question, full stop. What the desk does is make the broker's work accurate: the spec sheet states what the upper, lining and outsole actually are, so the heading the broker lands on rests on facts rather than on a category name like "sneaker", which is not what chapter 64 sorts by.
Duties: a broker question, not a quote
The desk is often asked what duty sneakers carry into the US, and the honest answer is that no figure belongs on this page. The duty rate follows the classification, the origin and the measures in force at the time of entry - all moving parts, and all the broker's lane. What the desk can say without a rate in sight: origin marking follows CBP rules and the goods are marked with their country of origin; the material composition behind the heading comes from the spec sheet; and any additional compliance checks for your program - material assessments, children's testing where it applies - are buyer-side steps with their own pages under compliance. The chapter structure itself is walked through in more depth in the note on shoe import duties, and the labeling that travels on the shoe in the note on US shoe labeling rules.
Two habits keep the duty conversation short. Confirm the classification with your broker before the goods ship, not after they arrive - a ruling question asked in advance is planning, and the same question asked at the border is a delay. And keep the commercial invoice consistent with the packing list and the spec sheet, because a mismatch between documents is the most common reason an entry draws questions it did not need to.
Cartons that survive the journey
Freight treats cartons as architecture: what is on the bottom of a stack is a floor, not a shoe box. The stock program's carton - 12 pairs, about 70-77 x 41.5-45.5 x 32.5-34.5 cm - is a proven shipping unit that loads efficiently into a container, and every carton carries its marking on the outside: model, color, size run, carton size and pieces. That marking is not decoration. It is what lets a warehouse count, sort and locate the order without opening a single box, and it is what receiving checks against the packing list before anything is signed for. How the marking is structured, and the packing decisions behind it, are covered in the note on carton packing.
Container loading itself is part of the program sheet: carton count, stacking plan and any palletizing for your channel are agreed before the goods leave, because a carton plan that works for a distributor's dock may not suit a parcel-based warehouse. State the destination's receiving constraints in the brief - the least costly moment to design for them is before the cartons are sealed.
Where the desk's role ends
The boundary is worth stating plainly, because clean boundaries are what make shipping boring. The desk prepares and checks the export side: invoice, packing list, carton marking, composition facts for classification, and the shipping plan agreed on the program sheet. From the port of loading onward, the buyer and their broker own the entry: classification, duty payment, and any exam or question CBP raises. The desk does not quote duty rates, classify goods on behalf of customs, or promise clearance times - those are the broker's professional calls, made on documents the desk has made accurate. This division is not a disclaimer; it is the working arrangement that keeps every party on the side of the file where its competence sits.
If you have a US program to plan - cartons, documents and a destination warehouse's requirements - put it in a brief through the request form, and the export side arrives as a written program. The clock behind the shipment, dispatch and bulk alike, sits on the MOQ and lead time page, and resellers planning mixed lot orders will find the buying side in the lot buying guide.