Importing Nihonto through US Customs and Tariff info

[MEENag]

I thought I would share the story of how my first  Nihonto delivery process went in case it might be helpful to someone. 

I went to Japan with my family for the first time in  the middle of June this year. One of my goals for the trip was to select my first Nihonto while there. You can read more about that in the Nihonto forum under the thread “Question about Aoi listing”. 

I did select and purchase a sword from Aoi Art. 

Paid:  6/15

Export permit received: 7/19 

Shipped via EMS: 7/20

Arrived in Chicago customs: 7/23

Letter from US customs with arrival notice dated: 7/28

I received that letter from customs on 8/5

 

The letter from customs said that since my package was valued over $2500 that it would need Formal Entry. I believe all packages will require similar  processing in the future with Trump ending the de minimus exemption. The letter said that I could send the forms myself but that many choose to hire a customs broker due to the complexity of the process.  I thought I would do it myself, but was quickly underwhelmed by the lack of helpful info on the internet. I thought I would take a couple of hours off of work to find a broker on that Wednesday (8/6), the day after receiving the letter. It ended up being an all day affair. I started on the CBP website with the list of approved brokers they have. Most of them seemed to cater to large companies but I made some calls that went nowhere and  filled out some online forms for a couple that looked promising. One responded fairly quickly. I sent some info and asked some questions, including how much it would cost. They would answer my questions except for the ones about price so I stopped working with them after multiple attempts were ignored. I was getting frustrated trying to find someone to work with me so I consulted the internet. That lead me to some posts on Reddit that suggested eezyimports, which is a kind of DIY customs portal.  I registered there and uploaded my info. I felt like I was making good progress but had a question. I worked with their online chat to resolve my issue and they eventually informed me they don’t work with postal packages. I next engaged with Clearit, a similar service where you upload your docs and an agent helps you through the process.  I uploaded my forms and an agent  contacted me a couple of hours later. Long story short, I spent 2 days going back and forth with the agent and had to abandon Clearit when they insisted I provide a USPS form that made no sense for my situation and was literally (in the original sense, kids) impossible for me to fill out. The agent was somewhere overseas and seemed to be following a template, but it didn’t apply to my situation. 

I was back to the point of cold calling customs brokers found via a Google search. By this time it was Friday and I was concerned with how long it was taking to get this process moving. Many fruitless calls later I finally had a broker answer that said this wasn’t something he normally handled but that he was willing to help. What a relief. He was very quick to get started once he received my paperwork. During this process is when I learned that I was going to get hit with tariffs. He said that it would be duty  free because it was an antique but that the tariffs should apply. Since I had seen other people on NMB say they weren’t tariffed, I wanted to make sure he was correct, so I emailed US CBP at the address listed on the letter. They were quick to respond to multiple inquiries that we had and confirmed that the tariff would apply. From April to 8/7, the 10% tariff was supposed to apply. I think that they weren’t very strict about applying it because the whole thing was a confusing mess for a while. I read of several here who got through customs without tariffs, including one who posted in my other thread that he bought his more expensive sword from Aoi after me but got his export permit sooner, so it got to customs sooner. I was told by my broker that they got alerts about increased scrutiny starting the day my package processed. Lucky me. 

HTSCodes, if helpful to someone. 

9706.10.0060 Antique over 250 years old

9706.90.0060. Antique over 100 years old

9903.01.25 IEEPA Reciprocal tariff 10%.

The reciprocal 10% tariff was replaced by a 15% tariff as of 8/7. 

https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=9706.10.00.60

 

There was one last hiccup that occupied us for a couple of days as we waited for an answer from Japan Post/Japan Airlines/USPS but it turned out to be a wild goose chase. As I mentioned, the broker did not normally handle this type of case so he was unfamiliar with processing items going through postal services (EMS/USPS). His software would not process the file without a Master Airway Bill(MAWB) associated with the delivery to customs. We went round and round trying to get it from Japan Post/EMS/USPS/ Japan Airlines/Aoi Art but to no avail. We finally emailed customs and they just said to use the tracking number (also known as the House Airway Bill (HAWB) for both HAWB and MAWB entries on the form and to leave out trailing characters on the MAWB if it was too long.   With that info, the paperwork went through. After the fact, we learned that the MAWB is a commercial freight forwarding (UPS/FedEx) concept that doesn’t apply to postal service deliveries.  I submitted my payment and fees/tariffs (almost$1k) to the broker and he forwarded the paperwork to Customs shortly thereafter on 8/12. The next day customs turned it over to the USPS at noon and I get home today on 8/14 to find that they had attempted delivery. I’ll go pick it up tomorrow and hope that all is well with the package. I’m not without concern, as one heartless poster on another thread put the idea of sticky fingers in the USPS in my head. 

 

Aoi Art was very responsive in my inquiries to them and participated in the wild goose chase without complaint, which I was thankful for. 

 

My broker said that he learned some things throughout this process that would make the process much smoother next time. I am very thankful to him for working with me. He was professional, extremely responsive and seemed of very high character in all of my interactions with him and would definitely recommend him if someone here needs this service. He works out of Texas, but can work with any port. He said that I could post his info here.  I have no affiliation or monetary interest in doing so, I just want to help someone here. If you aren’t using him for a sword, tell him you heard about him on this sword forum so he knows the business is coming from his willingness to help me. 

James Shalda

Licensed Customs Broker

JAMES CB TX LLC

https://jamescb.com

 

Good luck to any of you going through this process. 
 

Jeff

 

[David Flynn]

I think from now on, Americans would be better off buying swords from reputable dealers and sword shows in the US.  International trade has now become a quagmire.

[Rawa]

10 minutes ago, David Flynn said:

I think from now on, Americans would be better off buying swords from reputable dealers and sword shows in the US.  International trade has now become a quagmire.

Yes. In another thread I had same advice.

[Rawa]

2 hours ago, MEENag said:

 

I thought I would share the story of how my first  Nihonto delivery process went in case it might be helpful to someone. 

I went to Japan with my family for the first time in  the middle of June this year. One of my goals for the trip was to select my first Nihonto while there. You can read more about that in the Nihonto forum under the thread “Question about Aoi listing”. 

I did select and purchase a sword from Aoi Art. 

Paid:  6/15

Export permit received: 7/19 

Shipped via EMS: 7/20

Arrived in Chicago customs: 7/23

Letter from US customs with arrival notice dated: 7/28

I received that letter from customs on 8/5

 

The letter from customs said that since my package was valued over $2500 that it would need Formal Entry. I believe all packages will require similar  processing in the future with Trump ending the de minimus exemption. The letter said that I could send the forms myself but that many choose to hire a customs broker due to the complexity of the process.  I thought I would do it myself, but was quickly underwhelmed by the lack of helpful info on the internet. I thought I would take a couple of hours off of work to find a broker on that Wednesday (8/6), the day after receiving the letter. It ended up being an all day affair. I started on the CBP website with the list of approved brokers they have. Most of them seemed to cater to large companies but I made some calls that went nowhere and  filled out some online forms for a couple that looked promising. One responded fairly quickly. I sent some info and asked some questions, including how much it would cost. They would answer my questions except for the ones about price so I stopped working with them after multiple attempts were ignored. I was getting frustrated trying to find someone to work with me so I consulted the internet. That lead me to some posts on Reddit that suggested eezyimports, which is a kind of DIY customs portal.  I registered there and uploaded my info. I felt like I was making good progress but had a question. I worked with their online chat to resolve my issue and they eventually informed me they don’t work with postal packages. I next engaged with Clearit, a similar service where you upload your docs and an agent helps you through the process.  I uploaded my forms and an agent  contacted me a couple of hours later. Long story short, I spent 2 days going back and forth with the agent and had to abandon Clearit when they insisted I provide a USPS form that made no sense for my situation and was literally (in the original sense, kids) impossible for me to fill out. The agent was somewhere overseas and seemed to be following a template, but it didn’t apply to my situation. 

I was back to the point of cold calling customs brokers found via a Google search. By this time it was Friday and I was concerned with how long it was taking to get this process moving. Many fruitless calls later I finally had a broker answer that said this wasn’t something he normally handled but that he was willing to help. What a relief. He was very quick to get started once he received my paperwork. During this process is when I learned that I was going to get hit with tariffs. He said that it would be duty  free because it was an antique but that the tariffs should apply. Since I had seen other people on NMB say they weren’t tariffed, I wanted to make sure he was correct, so I emailed US CBP at the address listed on the letter. They were quick to respond to multiple inquiries that we had and confirmed that the tariff would apply. From April to 8/7, the 10% tariff was supposed to apply. I think that they weren’t very strict about applying it because the whole thing was a confusing mess for a while. I read of several here who got through customs without tariffs, including one who posted in my other thread that he bought his more expensive sword from Aoi after me but got his export permit sooner, so it got to customs sooner. I was told by my broker that they got alerts about increased scrutiny starting the day my package processed. Lucky me. 

HTSCodes, if helpful to someone. 

9706.10.0060 Antique over 250 years old

9706.90.0060. Antique over 100 years old

9903.01.25 IEEPA Reciprocal tariff 10%.

The reciprocal 10% tariff was replaced by a 15% tariff as of 8/7. 

https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=9706.10.00.60

 

There was one last hiccup that occupied us for a couple of days as we waited for an answer from Japan Post/Japan Airlines/USPS but it turned out to be a wild goose chase. As I mentioned, the broker did not normally handle this type of case so he was unfamiliar with processing items going through postal services (EMS/USPS). His software would not process the file without a Master Airway Bill(MAWB) associated with the delivery to customs. We went round and round trying to get it from Japan Post/EMS/USPS/ Japan Airlines/Aoi Art but to no avail. We finally emailed customs and they just said to use the tracking number (also known as the House Airway Bill (HAWB) for both HAWB and MAWB entries on the form and to leave out trailing characters on the MAWB if it was too long.   With that info, the paperwork went through. After the fact, we learned that the MAWB is a commercial freight forwarding (UPS/FedEx) concept that doesn’t apply to postal service deliveries.  I submitted my payment and fees/tariffs (almost$1k) to the broker and he forwarded the paperwork to Customs shortly thereafter on 8/12. The next day customs turned it over to the USPS at noon and I get home today on 8/14 to find that they had attempted delivery. I’ll go pick it up tomorrow and hope that all is well with the package. I’m not without concern, as one heartless poster on another thread put the idea of sticky fingers in the USPS in my head. 

 

Aoi Art was very responsive in my inquiries to them and participated in the wild goose chase without complaint, which I was thankful for. 

 

My broker said that he learned some things throughout this process that would make the process much smoother next time. I am very thankful to him for working with me. He was professional, extremely responsive and seemed of very high character in all of my interactions with him and would definitely recommend him if someone here needs this service. He works out of Texas, but can work with any port. He said that I could post his info here.  I have no affiliation or monetary interest in doing so, I just want to help someone here. If you aren’t using him for a sword, tell him you heard about him on this sword forum so he knows the business is coming from his willingness to help me. 

James Shalda

Licensed Customs Broker

JAMES CB TX LLC

https://jamescb.com

 

Good luck to any of you going through this process. 
 

Jeff

 

But men so its only 15% tarrif rate? Not extra 15% totalling 25%?

[MEENag]

I believe it is just 15%, but I got that information from Google.  

[Hokke]

7 hours ago, Rawa said:

But men so its only 15% tarrif rate? Not extra 15% totalling 25%?

Yes, as I understand it, the total tariff is 15%, but remember thats just the tariff. If it is necessary to hire a broker to field the red tape and paperwork for some purchases, those fees are additional.

[atm]

Thanks for sharing your experience in detail @MEENag. Sorry to hear it took so long and was so frustrating, but I hope receiving your sword makes it all worthwhile in the end.

[MEENag]

46 minutes ago, Hokke said:

Yes, as I understand it, the total tariff is 15%, but remember thats just the tariff. If it is necessary to hire a broker to field the red tape and paperwork for some purchases, those fees are additional.

Yes, I paid a 10% tariff, a broker fee, a .3464% merchandise fee to CBP (min ~$33), and a small fee based on value to use the brokers bond (~$20). 

[Hokke]

1 hour ago, MEENag said:

Yes, I paid a 10% tariff, a broker fee, a .3464% merchandise fee to CBP (min ~$33), and a small fee based on value to use the brokers bond (~$20). 

Just so everyone reading is clear, you only paid a 10% tariff because your shipment arrived before 8/7/25, which is when the 15% went into effect. All current shipments will be subject to 15%+additional broker and CBP fees if applicable. 

But the good news is, that our current administration wants you know that you aren’t actually paying the tariffs, even though you are actually paying the tariff. Just let that reality slide out of your conscience and repeat to yourself “I’m not paying the tariff, I’m not paying the tariff.” You are still paying the tariff but maybe you will feel better.

[MEENag]

45 minutes ago, Hokke said:

Just so everyone reading is clear, you only paid a 10% tariff because your shipment arrived before 8/7/25, which is when the 15% went into effect. All current shipments will be subject to 15%+additional broker and CBP fees if applicable. 

But the good news is, that our current administration wants you know that you aren’t actually paying the tariffs, even though you are actually paying the tariff. Just let that reality slide out of your conscience and repeat to yourself “I’m not paying the tariff, I’m not paying the tariff.” You are still paying the tariff but maybe you will feel better.

Correct. It’s 15% going forward, which sucks.
I don’t think I would have done anything differently when selecting my first sword had I known about the tariffs. I really wanted to select it while on my first trip to Japan. I stayed well below the top of my budget with the sword I selected, so even with the added cost I’m still below my budget. 
If I add to my collection later, I’ll probably start looking closer to home. 

[Mushin]

Jeff,

 

Thank you for your hard-won post. You did a great service by sharing this experience, and though while it was undoubtedly painful to deal with at the time, your trailblazing has at least uncovered a reliable broker willing to work with those of us who can't quite kick the need for Japan mail order fix for our addiction. It's easy to say only buy from American dealers and sword shows -- and indeed that is good advice -- the reality is sometimes things pop up on Japanese dealers' websites that sometimes hits the exact spot some of us have been looking to fill. Not every dealer uses UPS (which I recommend over EMS for various reasons,) so if that must have blade or fitting appears and EMS is the only option, your experience has provided valuable intelligence. Domo arigato, companero!

 

Bobby

[Rawa]

True you have found reliable one.

[Gerry]

 

 

Here's another tariff data point for swords shipping from Japan. So I've just received my first sword via UPS from Japan. All other times I've received swords from Japan though EMS.

 

Apparently, with UPS, you are forced to pay customs/duties unlike with EMS when it's a crapshot.

 

So my tariff bill came out to 15% of the sword price, which I fortunately managed to significantly minimize because of a suggestion from the dealer.

[Lewis B]

38 minutes ago, Gerry said:

a suggestion from the dealer.

Don't leave us hanging.....

[Gerry]

1 hour ago, Lewis B said:

Don't leave us hanging.....

It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to guess. 

 

[Gerry]

 

Though I must say that Tsuruginoya has by far the best packaging of all the sword dealers I've worked with in Japan. The sword arrived via UPS from Japan to the US in only 1 day. EMS would have taken a week.

[Lewis B]

7 minutes ago, Gerry said:

It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to guess. 

 

Ohhh. Well there is always that. Thought it was a new HS Code or something.

[Natichu]

35 minutes ago, Gerry said:

 

Though I must say that Tsuruginoya has by far the best packaging of all the sword dealers I've worked with in Japan. The sword arrived via UPS from Japan to the US in only 1 day. EMS would have taken a week.

Hope we get to see pictures of the new arrival in due course! From what I've seen of their site they have some stunning pieces. 

[Gerry]

It's a soden bizen blade with a nice jigane that wasn't evident from the photos on their website.

 

It's pity that they don't entertain visits to their store to view their blades in person, but the owner is a stand-up guy to work with.

 

[RobBBQ]

Following on from this topic I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience having a sword send back from Japan after restoration, and specifically if the same sort of tariffs apply in that case?  The timing here is quite unfortunate for me, as the sword was posted for polish before I was aware of any of this was going to happen.  Thanks in advance, Rob  

[Rawa]

59 minutes ago, RobBBQ said:

Following on from this topic I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience having a sword send back from Japan after restoration, and specifically if the same sort of tariffs apply in that case?  The timing here is quite unfortunate for me, as the sword was posted for polish before I was aware of any of this was going to happen.  Thanks in advance, Rob  

But men you bought it way before. You simply send it for restoration. It is your posesion [ownership] all this time. Tarif/custom how it exactly is define in states? Its quasi tax for moving product through border every time and it dsn't matter that its exact same item? [AND MORE IMPORTANT SAME OWNER] or it is one time fee for "protection domestic market and producers". Holly s**t Trump is bragging about tariffs being success. Easy votes from rednecks/bottom dwellers. 

 

There must be exemption for this case even in states law. Exempii gratia museums getting art from other countries for exhibition don't pay tariffs.

 

@RobBBQI hope that you would dig through it and would post info. Case law is loco 

[Brian]

in SA, you have to do some pre-notification to make them aware it's coming back and avoid import duties. I know this for cameras and other expensive items you take overseas. I expect there's a similar procedure that side.

[RobBBQ]

Thanks very much gents, I shall let you know how I get on in this case.  Will see what can be done with regards to indicating that I own the item already and that it is being returned from restoration work.  Best, Rob

[dvill_iaido]

Right now I'm waiting for EMS to resume delivery so I can have my sword shipped out. I purchased my sword from e-swords. Not sure what else I can do at this point.