Tariff and Surface Shipping fees from Japan to the US

William Hacker - 1 June 1998

In looking into purchasing overseas, here is some information I've obtained which might be of use to other would-be importers:

U.S. Customs: The following are the tariff numbers and duty-rates for Japanese equipment imported to the U.S. (I obtained these numbers/rates by calling the U.S. customs rate-information number, 212-466-5664, and talking to an "import specialist"):

"Optical Disc Players" (includes MD units), tariff number 8519.99.0045, duty rate = 0.8%.
"Unrecorded Magnetic Discs" (includes MD blanks), tariff number 8523.20.0000, duty rate = 0.6%
"Electrical Adaptors" (includes step-down transformers), tariff number 8504.40.9580. duty rate = 1.9%

For those considering purchasing heavy components (such as MD decks), which can be prohibitively expensive to ship by air, it might be worth considering shipping by sea (assuming you can be patient!) I obtained the following Japanese postal rates for shipping items from Tokyo to the U.S. (not including insurance) via "surface":

up to 1 kg: 1800 yen
additional weight over 1 kg, up to 10 kg total weight: 550 yen/kg
additional weight over 10 kg: 350 yen/kg

For example, an 18 kg deck would cost 1800 + 9*550 + 8*350 = 9550 yen (about $70) to ship. By comparison, the UPS charge for shipping 18kg by air is over $260.

Tariff and Surface Shipping fees from Japan to the US

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