Destination: The United States of America

Background: The United States became the world's first modern democracy after its break with Great Britain (1776) and the adoption of a constitution (1789). During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Economy - overview: The US has the most technologically powerful, diverse, advanced, and largest economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $33,900. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-99 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The outlook for 2000 is clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, and many other countries. Domestically, the potentially most serious problem is the exuberant level of stock prices in relation to corporate earnings.

Customs Clearance: US Customs inspect all shipments entering the United States. We will provide the appropriate forms that you must complete for your goods to be Customs cleared. Once you have completed them, we forward them to the destination agent along with the packing list and shipping documents. The Power of Attorney form enables the destination agent or his appointed Customs broker to act as your representative, and to make statements and present documents to Customs on your behalf. The 'Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles' also known as Customs form 3299 is where you must declare your own personal details, residency status, and other information about your shipment. The 'Supplemental Declaration' on which you give further details about your citizenship, your U.S. and overseas addresses, passport and/or Social security number and if applicable, your employment details. At some ports, Customs will request copies of either your Social security number or your passport. We recommend that you attach to your Customs documents a copy of either of these, and if required, our agent will present it to Customs with the remainder of the documents. Passport copies should include the pages with your personal details, and Visa page (if applicable).

Information is as a guide only – Quarantine and Customs conditions may change without notice
Please contact us for updated information