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Origin and trade agreements

Exporting from the US: a guide for online sellers

What a US online seller checks before shipping abroad: Schedule B and ECCN, licenses, when EEI is filed, denied parties and the duties the buyer pays.

Updated · 7 official sources

Exporting from the US as an online seller takes four checks before a parcel leaves: the product's Schedule B or HTS number, its export classification under the Export Administration Regulations (an ECCN or EAR99), whether a license is needed for that destination and buyer, and whether the shipment needs Electronic Export Information (EEI) filed in AES. The buyer's country then charges its own duty and tax.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

How do you classify a product for export?#

A US export is classified twice. For the export record, it takes a 10-digit Schedule B number from the Census Bureau, or the 10-digit HTS import number in its place, with a description detailed enough to check it. For export controls, it takes an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) from the Commerce Control List, or EAR99.

EAR99 covers items subject to the EAR that aren't on the Commerce Control List; on an EEI filing they go out as "NLR", no license required, with license code C33. Items on the list carry an ECCN such as 5A992, and whether they need a license depends on the ECCN, the destination, the end user and the end use. Defense articles on the US Munitions List are the State Department's, under the ITAR, not the EAR.

The HS code classifier gives the HTS number, which can stand in for Schedule B on the export filing.

Does the item need an export license?#

An item needs a US export license when its ECCN, destination, end user or end use requires one under the EAR, or when it is a defense article under the ITAR. Items that need no license ship as NLR, and some that would otherwise need one can go under a license exception, whose symbol is reported on the EEI filing.

For an online seller of consumer goods, the cases to catch are an item that turns out to be on the Commerce Control List (mass-market encryption items under 5A992 or firearm parts under 0A501, for example), a destination under embargo, and a buyer on a restricted list. A license application, when one is needed, goes to BIS for EAR items and to the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls for ITAR items.

When do you need to file EEI in AES?#

EEI must be filed in AES when any Schedule B number in a shipment from one exporter to one consignee is worth more than $2,500, and always, whatever the value, when the goods need a license. Exports to Canada are exempt unless they need a license or are going on to a third country.

Some exports need EEI at any value: goods that need a license, ITAR goods, items subject to the EAR going to a Country Group E:1 or E:2 destination, Commerce Control List items going to China, Russia or Venezuela, and a few other cases.

Take an order to Germany with $1,800 of wool sweaters and $900 of cashmere scarves under two different Schedule B numbers. The order is worth $2,700, but neither number is over $2,500, so no EEI is filed and the paperwork carries the exemption legend NOEEI § 30.37(a). Add $800 more sweaters and the sweater line reaches $2,600, so that line needs EEI. The export documents guide covers deadlines, the ITN and the legends.

How do you screen the buyer?#

Screen every buyer and consignee against the Consolidated Screening List, which the International Trade Administration publishes from the export screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury, including BIS's Entity List and Denied Persons List and OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals list. A possible match calls for due diligence, not an automatic refusal.

The list is updated every day, and the ITA asks users to confirm a match against the official publication before acting on it. border.bot's denied party screening checks a name against these lists, and the Screen API runs the same check from your checkout.

What will the buyer pay at the destination?#

The buyer pays the destination country's duty and import tax, set by that country's own tariff and thresholds, not by US rules. Each country draws its own line below which no duty or tax is charged, and a US-origin product can qualify for a lower duty in a country that has a trade agreement with the US.

Low-value thresholds in common destinations for US sellers

Country Duty-free up to Tax-free up to Currency Value counted Official source
Canada 20 20 CAD customs value cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Mexico 50 50 USD customs value anam.gob.mx
United Kingdom 135 GBP customs value gov.uk
Germany 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
France 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
Australia 1,000 AUD customs value abf.gov.au
Japan 10,000 JPY customs value customs.go.jp

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-11

A product made in the US and shipped to Canada or Mexico can claim USMCA's preferential rate with a certification of origin, and one shipped to Korea can claim KORUS; the US trade agreements guide lists them all. To show the buyer the full price, quote it with the landed cost calculator and decide between DDP and DAP before you ship.

What should be in place before each export?#

Each US export is ready to leave when its classification, license position, screening result and filing status are settled, and the destination's charges are known. Checking them in the same order for every order catches the shipments that need EEI or a license before the carrier collects them.

Common questions#

What is the difference between Schedule B and HTS numbers?#

Schedule B numbers classify exports and HTS numbers classify imports, both 10 digits. The export filing accepts either, except where the HTS headnotes say otherwise.

Do I need an export license to sell online from the US?#

Not when the item is EAR99, or a controlled item with no license requirement for that destination, and the buyer and end use raise no restriction. Otherwise a license from BIS, or from the State Department for ITAR items, comes first.

Is EEI required for shipments to Canada?#

No, unless the goods need a license or another always-file rule applies, or they are stored in Canada or pass through it on the way to another country.

Sources#