The sequence in one view
A US entry for intimates runs through five steps, and each has a clear owner. The table is the map; the sections after it walk the steps in order.
| Step | What happens | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | The goods are classified to the tariff line on written construction facts | Customs broker |
| Entry filing | The declaration is filed and duties are estimated at the entry rate | Broker with the importer of record |
| Papers | Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill | Supplier, carrier, forwarder |
| Product layer | Fiber label, care label, a 16 CFR 1610 report per fabric; CPSIA when children's | The program, verified per project |
| Arrival | Release at entry, with exam risk kept low by consistent papers | Broker |
The order matters more than the parts: classification before booking fixes the cost structure, papers before sailing prevent delay, and the product layer finished before packing prevents the most expensive failure of all - goods that clear the border but cannot be listed because a label or a report is missing.
Classification and duty
Classification starts from the international headings and lands on the US tariff line, where the duty rate lives. Bras carry the 6212 reference across constructions; knitted underwear sits in the knitted chapter's references; the full walk-through is in the note on HS codes. What matters for planning is the input: brokers classify on facts, and the facts are fabric type, construction, garment family and packaging format, all of which the plant states in writing during sampling. A program that supplies written construction facts gets a classification that survives review; a program that lets the broker guess from a one-line description invites a code that moves later, and a duty figure that moves with it.
Duty planning stays honest for one reason: the classification rests on the construction, and the construction is written down before anyone quotes a cost. When the tariff line, the duty figure and the bill of materials sit on the same page of the program file, the landed-cost conversation with the brand starts from the same facts as the entry - and the figure that looked right at the brief is still the figure at release.
Papers, origin and consistency
Three documents travel with the goods and a fourth sits on the product itself. The commercial invoice, the packing list and the transport document form the entry set, and reviewers read them as one statement: do the descriptions match, do the quantities add up, does the origin agree. Origin is the detail that crosses layers - the label on the garment, the statement on the invoice and the entry all describe the same manufacturing fact. Carton marks that agree with the packing list complete the set. Consistency is what keeps an entry uneventful, and uneventful is the goal: shipments with agreeing papers release routinely, while inconsistencies turn a routine exam into a project that eats a launch window.
The product layer the listing depends on
The layer that decides whether goods can actually be sold is finished before packing. The fiber label carries content, origin and the RN identification under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. The care label states the tested care instructions under the FTC rule - the note on care labeling walks the statement families. A 16 CFR 1610 flammability report is held per fabric construction, produced routinely by fabric mills and read against the bill of materials. And when the program is a children's line, CPSIA adds third-party testing, a certificate and tracking information - the note on CPSIA marks where the line sits. The certifications checklist assembles the whole pack in order. None of these papers is hard to produce once; each is hard to produce twice under deadline.
Freight and the calendar
The reference ranges set expectations: sea freight to the US West coast runs in the 15-25 day window as the category reference, express moves samples in 5-8 days, and air freight is available - intimates carry no battery or liquid restrictions. Sample rounds take 7-15 days for catalog models and 15-25 days for branded development; bulk follows at 30-45 days for catalog models and 35-50 days for branded work, each confirmed in writing per order on MOQ and lead time. The compliance layer rides on this calendar: flammability reports and label approvals are sampling-stage work, so the entry layer and the product layer finish together instead of queueing behind each other. Express and air carry a premium but no compliance penalty: the same papers ride the airway bill as the bill of lading, so a late program buys speed without reopening the file. Consolidated loads suit smaller programs; full containers suit launches at depth.
Sequencing the file
- Send written construction facts to the broker per destination before the first booking.
- Agree quantities and timing as ranges confirmed in writing, then fix the production calendar.
- Collect label approvals - fiber, care - against the frozen bill of materials.
- Verify the flammability report per fabric construction, and the children's papers where applicable.
- Ship with invoice, packing list and transport document in agreement.
- File the pack with the program documents so repeat orders refresh it rather than rebuild it.
What the desk does
The desk coordinates both layers as one program: partner plants state construction facts and produce labels, mills and laboratories produce the reports, the broker classifies and files, and the desk verifies each paper per project before the cartons close. A program brief that names the US destination, the channels and the constructions lets the desk stage the sequence from the first reply - the quote form carries that brief, and reference quantities and timing sit on MOQ and lead time. The transport detail is on the logistics and shipping page, where containers, cartons and the choice between full and consolidated loads are set out for apparel programs.