What DDP shipping from China to USA means — and does not mean
Under Delivered Duty Paid the seller delivers to the named place and pays the import duty and taxes. The buyer’s obligation ends at receiving the goods. That is genuinely convenient: no broker relationship, no bond, no entry filing, one invoice.
What it does not mean, despite how it is marketed:
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It does not make you invisible to customs. The entry still exists. Someone is named as importer of record and that record outlives the transaction.
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It does not transfer classification risk to you in the way you might hope — nor does it remove the risk from the transaction. It relocates it into the price and the contract.
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It does not include antidumping and countervailing duties in any standard DDP term.
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It is not the same as door-to-door. Door-to-door is a routing. DDP is a duty obligation.
Is the 2026 duty stack inside a DDP price?
2026 is the reason this question matters more than it used to. Four layers now commonly stack on a Chinese-origin consumer good:
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The MFN rate for its HTS line.
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A Section 301 tariff — 25% on Lists 1–3, 7.5% on List 4A.
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The Section 301 forced-labor tariff at 12.5%, in force since 2026-07-24.
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Section 232 or AD/CVD where the product is covered.
Layer three is the one quoted prices most often miss, because it is new and because its exemption list works at HTS line level. Work through it before you accept a DDP figure:
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Find your 10-digit HTS code first — the exemption list works at line level, not at category level.
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Check 9903.05.86 (US Note 52(b)): computers, smartphones, network equipment, most semiconductors, natural rubber, coffee, tea, spices and most finished pharmaceuticals are listed there.
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Check 9903.05.90: if your goods are already subject to a Section 232 measure, this layer generally does not apply.
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If your product is a consumer good in a category not listed above, assume the 12.5% applies until a broker confirms otherwise.
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Model the line both ways before you commit to a landed-cost-based retail price.
The full layer-by-layer detail, with effective dates and HTSUS Chapter 99 line numbers, is on the 2026 duty stack page. Estimate the total for your own goods with the duty calculator — then compare that against the DDP price you were given. If the difference is large, ask which layer was left out.
Who is the importer of record in a DDP shipment?
Not you, normally — that is the point of DDP. The seller, or an entity the seller nominates, makes the entry and pays the duty.
Two practical consequences importers discover late. First, you do not build a customs history of your own, which matters if you later want to import directly, apply for a continuous bond, or challenge a duty assessment. Second, if the entry later becomes the subject of an enforcement action, the goods are still yours and a penalty recovery can reach back through the commercial relationship.
For the alternative structure, see the ISF filing guide — the 24-hour rule and the USD 5,000 penalty apply to whoever files, so in a DDP arrangement, make sure you know who that is.
DDP versus DAP, FOB and CIF for US imports
How the common Incoterms allocate duty and entry responsibility on a China-to-USA shipment.
| Term | Freight to US | US entry & bond | Duty and taxes | Importer of record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer |
| FOB | Buyer, from the load port | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer |
| CIF | Seller to the discharge port | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer |
| DAP | Seller to the named place | Seller or buyer by agreement | Buyer | Buyer |
| DDP | Seller to the named place | Seller | Seller | Seller or nominated entity |
The DAP row is where invoices go missing. DAP is door-to-door delivery with duty still on the buyer, and it is frequently sold as though it were DDP.
Where DDP breaks down
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Classification disputes. Two people can classify the same product differently and both be defensible. Under DDP you may not learn which code was used until after entry.
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AD/CVD. Case rates are unknowable in advance. DDP terms exclude them, and they are the reason a covered product can arrive with an invoice several times larger than the goods.
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Refunds. If duty is later found to have been overpaid — for example on a Section 301 exclusion that applies retroactively — the refund is owed to whoever made the entry. Under DDP that is not you.
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Exams and holds. A CBP exam costs time and money. In a DDP arrangement, confirm in writing who absorbs the storage and demurrage while the container sits.
How to compare two DDP quotes
Ask these five questions of any DDP quote, ours included:
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Which HTS code did you classify the goods under, and who is the importer of record on the entry?
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Which duty layers are inside this price, listed individually?
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Is AD/CVD excluded, and is that exclusion in writing?
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Is the price firm for a named sailing or flight, and for how long?
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If CBP examines the container, who pays the storage and demurrage?
A supplier or forwarder who can answer all five is worth a few percent more than one who cannot. If you would rather talk it through, WhatsApp +86 188 2505 7036 with your product description and we will tell you what we can and cannot confirm.