The US Customs and Border Protection intends to collect export country customs declarations and other foreign customs documents to verify the declared value, commodity classification, and identity of goods imported to the United States. A senior logistics expert in China stated that if relevant measures are implemented, the “double clearance and tax package” model relied upon by some unauthorized vapes will be directly impacted and may drive some trade to shift towards higher cost illegal transportation. The risk is not just about paying tariffs: genuine declarations may also make it easier for US regulatory agencies to identify vape products that have not been authorized by the FDA market.

US Intends To Require Submission Of Export Country Declaration Forms (1)

US Intends To Require Submission Of Export Country Declaration Forms Core points

• CBP plans to cross check the export country’s customs declaration information with the US import declaration, which may simultaneously expose differences in declared value, product classification, and product identity.
• For vapes that have not been authorized by the FDA market, true declaration is not just about increasing tariffs; Even if taxes are paid in full, the product still does not qualify for legal sale in the United States.
• Industry sources claim that the transportation of top unauthorized vapes to the United States is concentrated in less than ten core Chinese freight forwarders, and the risk of seizure and compensation will be included in the logistics quotation.
• Mr. M believes that if the existing grey customs clearance shifts towards higher cost illegal transportation, some of China’s vape export business may lose economic feasibility in the United States.
• From January to July 2026, China’s exports of vapes and related products to the United States continued to grow by 8.4% year-on-year to 1.981 billion US dollars, indicating that the existing supply chain is still able to absorb the phased impact of law enforcement.

Due to the sensitive commercial and law enforcement information involved in the relevant issues, only “Mr. M” is referred to in this article.
Mr. M stated that the impact will not be evenly distributed among all Chinese vape manufacturers. The biggest risk is unauthorized products entering the United States through opaque all inclusive logistics, which may involve low declared value, inaccurate product descriptions or tariff classifications, and registered importers with unclear roles.
For such products, the issue is not just about paying additional tariffs. Once the export country’s customs declaration documents display the true product name and classification, US regulatory agencies will be more likely to identify that the goods belong to vapes. Even if the importer pays full taxes, it cannot solve the independent issue of whether the product has obtained market authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This proposal involves the largest export market of China’s vape supply chain. According to analysis of Chinese customs data, from January to July 2026, China exported approximately $1.981 billion worth of vapes and related products to the United States, a year-on-year increase of 8.4%; Among them, the export value in July reached 404.2 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 53.5%.
The above data covers electronic atomization devices, nicotine containing non combustible inhalation products, and other nicotine replacement products, reflecting the declared export value by customs and unable to distinguish between FDA authorized and unauthorized products.

US Intends To Require Submission Of Export Country Declaration Forms (2)

CBP plans to introduce export declaration materials

On September 2nd, CBP released a proposed rule notice (ANPRM) titled “Heightened Import Disclosures for Supply Chain Visibility“, implementing Executive Order 14411 “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” signed by President Trump on June 3rd.
CBP is considering collecting documents submitted to foreign customs before exporting goods to the United States, including export declaration forms, commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, export licenses, as well as transportation documents such as bills of lading or air waybills.
These materials can display the declared value, commodity classification, and quantity of goods when they leave the exporting country. CBP stated that the relevant information can be used to verify foreign export records with US import declarations, identify information discrepancies that may violate US customs and trade laws, including dual invoices.
CBP is still seeking opinions on whether to apply the requirements to all imported goods, whether relevant documents should be submitted with the import declaration or only retained, and how importers should explain the value, quantity, or classification differences between export and import declarations. The solicitation of opinions will end on December 1, 2026, and there is currently no final rule or implementation date.
The publicly available data between China and the United States has shown a significant information gap. According to a Reuters survey, in 2024, China recorded exports of vapes to the United States worth over 26 billion yuan, approximately 3.6 billion US dollars, while the US Customs recorded imports of vapes from China worth only 333 million US dollars during the same period, a difference of about 90% between the two.
Two customs data experts told Reuters that statistical differences between trading partners are not uncommon, but such a large gap is not uncommon. Reuters also found that a customs clearance company near O’Hare Airport was involved in approximately 60% of the 2024 FDA registered shipments of vapes and components from China to the United States; Among the top ten recipients of vapes in the United States, six are companies established in 2023 or 2024 that are little known to the outside world, with some registered addresses in residential areas.
This difference itself cannot be directly regarded as evidence of underreporting or smuggling. Commodity classification, pricing methods, transportation time, transit trade, and statistical coverage may all cause differences in bilateral data. But its scale highlights the information gap that CBP’s proposal attempts to narrow.

US Intends To Require Submission Of Export Country Declaration Forms (3)

How to incorporate the risk of deduction into the quotation per kilogram

Chinese freight forwarders usually refer to a type of fully inclusive service as “double clearance and tax package”. Freight forwarders provide a unified quotation per kilogram or per ticket, arranging for Chinese export customs clearance, international transportation, destination country import customs clearance, tariffs, and final delivery; Some services also promise to compensate the exporter according to the product cost if the goods are seized.
This service has some similarities with Delivered Duty Paid, also known as DDP, but the two cannot be directly equated. Legitimate DDP is a trading arrangement recognized by Incoterms, where the seller is responsible for import customs clearance and bears the corresponding tariffs. Compliance issues arise from whether all inclusive services rely on low declared value, inaccurate product descriptions or classifications, and opaque registered importers, rather than DDP itself.
Mr. M stated that these operations are very common in the unauthorized vape logistics business he has been involved in, but there is no publicly available data to determine their specific proportion in China’s vape exports to the United States.
According to Mr. M, the recent full package sea freight quotation for vapes in the United States is about 40-50 yuan/kg, and air freight is about 95-98 yuan/kg. Air freight prices are higher, which includes both basic transportation costs and reflects the service provider’s assessment of seizure risks.
Another senior industry practitioner in China, who only signed as “Mr. S” due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that many vape freight forwarders have their own internal “algorithms” that adjust their quotations according to changes in perceived seizure risks and expected compensation responsibilities.
The ‘algorithm’ here is not a unified industry formula, nor is it a regulated actuarial model. Mr. S stated that the freight forwarder will calculate the price per kilogram for the next stage based on their own cargo damage, recent customs clearance channel performance, peer information, and potential compensation. When the deduction increases, the expected compensation will be included in the subsequent quotation; When the perceived risk decreases, the price will also fall.
In other words, customers pay not only for transportation and customs clearance costs, but also for the freight forwarder’s pricing of seizure risks.
Mr. M believes that if CBP checks the customs declaration materials of exporting countries with the import declaration of the United States, this model will bear more pressure. The declared value, product name, and classification of the same batch of goods when leaving China can be directly compared with the information submitted when entering the United States.
For unauthorized vapes, accurate declaration also brings a second layer of risk: documents proving the true value of the goods may also prove that they belong to vape products regulated by the FDA but have not yet obtained market authorization.

O’Hare deducts hidden liabilities of exposed freight forwarders

The specialized freight charter for transporting vape products is a long-standing air freight business model for Chinese vape exports to the United States.
Mr. M stated that according to specific flight and cargo information obtained through industry networks, several such charter flights carrying vape cargo were seized in batches at O’Hare Airport in Chicago around May 2026, totaling over 200 tons. This number is not calculated based on the overall deduction rate.
Some logistics practitioners estimate that about 70% to 80% of the vape air freight transported by O’Hare at that time faced seizure. However, this proportion is only a subjective judgment formed by practitioners based on their own cargo damage, peer feedback, and market quotations, and does not cover all statistical data of O’Hare’s vape goods.
Some exporters continue to use air freight because goods typically arrive in the United States within about 3-7 days, while sea freight often takes about two weeks or more. Supply chain insiders said that at that time, Foger was in the replenishment stage of the US market, and the previous round of unapproved disposable vape products represented by Geek Bar also faced inventory pressure. The speed advantage of air transportation still had commercial value.
Another Chinese logistics industry insider named “Mr. F” stated that in the May incident, one of the involved freight forwarders faced tens of millions of yuan, or even nearly 100 million yuan, in compensation for goods damage, calculated based on the exporter’s product cost.
Mr. F stated that due to the difficulty of the freight forwarder paying such a large amount of cash compensation in one go, the company has negotiated with some exporters to convert the compensation payment into a deduction amount for future freight services. The exporter will continue to use the freight forwarder, and the subsequent freight will be gradually deducted from the unpaid compensation balance.
In Mr. F’s opinion, a large-scale cargo damage may not immediately force freight forwarders to withdraw from the market. When customs clearance is smooth and the volume of goods is large, such companies may also gain higher profits. By calculating over a longer period of time, freight forwarders can digest the compensation pressure caused by centralized seizures through historical profits, increased quotes, and future freight income.
According to supply chain insiders, there are less than ten Chinese core freight forwarders that have long provided transportation services for top unauthorized vape products in the United States. A few service providers can diversify risks across goods, customers, and time; But once key freight forwarders continue to be under pressure, it may also affect multiple exporters simultaneously.

When grey clearance shifts towards higher cost illegal transportation

Mr. M believes that if foreign export documents become an important basis for US import enforcement, relevant exporters may face three choices: declare based on truthful information and meet applicable product requirements, reduce or withdraw from the US market, or further turn to illegal transportation.
The cost of the third option may be much higher than the existing model.
Mr. S stated that with the increasing risk of seizure and compensation pressure, the highest fully inclusive logistics quotation for vapes related to Australia will reach about 1000 RMB/kg in May June 2026; Recently, it has fallen back to about 200 yuan/kg, which is basically consistent with the same period quotation provided by Mr. M.
Although Australia has been intensively releasing relevant law enforcement messages recently, Mr. S’s judgment based on the decrease in logistics quotations suggests that the actual pressure felt by practitioners at ports may have eased. The above quotation and judgment are all based on industry experience
Australia can only be used as a stress scenario and cannot be directly applied to the United States. Mr. M believes that the price structure of both legal and illegal markets in Australia leaves more room for unauthorized products to absorb high logistics costs; The tax, retail, and authorized product structures in the United States are different.
If unauthorized vapes exported to the United States are forced to bear transportation costs close to the peak period in Australia, Mr. M believes that their landed costs may exceed those of legally sold vapes. For many Chinese exporters, this will not only result in reduced profits, but also the loss of commercial feasibility of their existing business models.
The latest trade data indicates that this critical point has not yet arrived. From January to May 2026, China’s exports of vapes and related products to the United States decreased by 13% year-on-year; By the first half of the year, cumulative exports had basically recovered to the same level as the same period last year. In July, exports increased by 53.5% year-on-year, driving a cumulative export growth of 8.4% from January to July.
This change coincides with industry insiders’ description of some goods shifting from air freight to sea freight after O’Hare’s strict inspection. During the period of abnormal increase in air freight seizure risk, logistics practitioners estimated that the relevant sea freight inspection rate during the same period was about 3%. This ratio, like O’Hare air freight data, is based on industry experience rather than official statistics.
Chinese customs data does not differentiate between transportation modes, brands, and FDA authorization status, so the export growth in July cannot be directly attributed to the shift of goods to sea freight.
The previous phased strict inspections mainly changed the seizure risk of a certain port or route. Exporters and freight forwarders can still respond by adjusting transportation methods, increasing quotes, delaying compensation, and replenishing inventory.
The CBP proposal may bring deeper changes: the declared value, commodity classification, and product name of exporting countries may be included in the US import verification. If the risk shifts from periodic and port based fluctuations to sustained constraints covering more transportation modes and supply chain entities, it will not only affect the logistics price per kilogram.
It may shake the information gap and risk balance system that some unauthorized vape exports in China rely on.