US Market Insight · July 2026

Shipping DDP to the US: When a Taiwan Seller Becomes the Importer of Record

US buyers keep asking Taiwan suppliers for DDP terms. Here is what becoming the importer of record really means — bonds, duties, risks, and when to say yes.

📅 Published July 7, 2026 · ⏱ 6 min read · 🏷 DDP · IOR · Incoterms

TL;DR for Taiwan Suppliers Quoting DDP

DDP is not a shipping term, it is a business decision — you are volunteering to be a US importer, with a customs bond, tariff liability, and audit exposure in a country where you have no entity. Price it properly or decline it.

Since the 2026 US-Taiwan reciprocal trade agreement locked most Taiwanese goods at a 15% all-in tariff, more US buyers — especially e-commerce brands and mid-size distributors — are pushing suppliers for "DDP, landed price, one number." It simplifies their life: no customs broker, no duty math, no surprises. Every one of those risks does not disappear. It moves to you.

1. What DDP Actually Obligates You to Do

Under Incoterms 2020, DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means the seller delivers goods cleared for import, duties paid, to the named place. Operationally in the US that means you (or your agent) must act as, or arrange, the Importer of Record (IOR); post a customs bond; classify goods, declare value, and pay all duties — including the 15% reciprocal rate, any Section 232/301 layers, and merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees; and keep entry records for five years, because CBP can audit the IOR years after the sale.

A foreign company can be a US importer of record — it is called a Foreign Importer of Record — but it must obtain a CBP-assigned importer number, appoint a US customs broker with a power of attorney, and post a bond through a US surety. Nothing about it is casual.

Quick Answer

Can a Taiwan company with no US entity really be the importer of record?

Yes — as a Foreign Importer of Record with a CBP importer number, a US broker holding your power of attorney, and a customs bond from a US surety. It is routine, but it creates real, auditable US legal obligations.

2. The Three Ways Taiwan Sellers Actually Do DDP

Option 1: Foreign IOR, your Taiwan entity

Cleanest legally, heaviest administratively. Continuous bond (typically about USD 500-1,000+ per year for a USD 50,000 bond, priced on duty volume), a US broker, and full liability. Right answer for steady volume.

Option 2: Buyer stays IOR, you fund the duties

Commercially "DDP-like": the buyer clears customs under their own bond, and your invoice nets duty costs into the price. Much lower risk for you — but the contract must state clearly who absorbs tariff swings.

Option 3: Third-party IOR services

Common in the FBA world, riskier than it looks. If the provider under-declares value, CBP's penalty case names the parties to the transaction — and your goods are the ones seized. Vet providers hard.

Bottom line: Cheap DDP quotes usually hide valuation games.

Quick Answer

What does a US customs bond cost?

A continuous bond starts around USD 500-1,000 per year for the USD 50,000 minimum size, scaling with your annual duty liability. Single-entry bonds suit one-off shipments but get expensive fast with frequency.

3. Pricing DDP Without Losing Your Shirt

A DDP quote is a customs entry in disguise. Build it line by line:

Line Item	Basis
FOB value	Your commercial price
Ocean freight (FCL or LCL)	Lane rate at quote date
Insurance	Per policy
15% reciprocal tariff	On customs value
MPF	0.3464% (min/max apply)
HMF	0.125% on ocean
Broker and bond fees	Fixed + annual
Inland delivery	To the named place

The Two Protections Most Suppliers Forget

Tariff adjustment clause: "quoted duties reflect rates effective [date]; changes in US tariff measures apply at cost."
Exam/exception buffer: customs exams, demurrage, and re-deliveries under DDP are yours.

If a buyer will not accept a tariff adjustment clause in 2026's policy environment, that tells you who they expect to eat the next executive order.

Quick Answer

Who eats the cost if tariffs change between quote and arrival?

Whatever the contract says — and if it says nothing, expect a fight. Always include a tariff adjustment clause referencing the quote date. In 2025-2026, rates moved multiple times per year.

4. When to Say No

Decline DDP When

The product carries anti-dumping/countervailing duty risk (fastener, steel, aluminum categories — the exposure can be several hundred percent, retroactively).
The buyer's motive is clearly to shift tariff-evasion risk off their own books.
Volume is too small to justify bond and broker overhead — quote DAP and let the buyer clear customs instead.

DDP is a fine tool for exporters with real US volume and clean products. It is a terrible place to discover US customs law by accident.

Quick Answer

Is DDP the same as what freight forwarders call "double clearance, tax included"?

The service looks similar, but many cheap "tax-included" channels rely on under-declared values under a third party's IOR. When CBP unwinds one of those schemes, the cargo owner's goods are seized regardless of who filed the entry. Ask exactly whose bond and whose declared values are being used.

5. Priced as an Import Operation, Not a Favor

Mingsung International Logistics moves FCL and LCL ocean freight from Taiwan to the US weekly and coordinates with licensed US brokers for clients weighing exactly this decision — the honest answer is that DDP works when it is priced as an import operation, not as a favor to close a deal.

Quick Answer

DDP or DAP — which should I offer a new US customer?

Default to DAP (you deliver, they clear and pay duties). Offer DDP only when you have priced the full entry, you trust the product's origin and classification, and the volume justifies the setup. Never offer DDP to win a price war — the margin you gave up was the risk premium.