Editorial policy

The duty and trade figures on airliftusa.com come from U.S. government datasets, and every figure is an estimate for planning. This page explains where our information comes from, how we check it, how often we refresh it, and how to tell us when something is wrong.

What we publish

We publish three kinds of content, and each is produced differently:

• Reference data — the tariff simulator, import duty pages, HTS code finder, US import data and tariff updates. These are generated from published government datasets, not written by hand.
• Explanatory guides — the glossary, commodity guides and lane pages. Our operations team writes these from how the work is actually done, then checks them against the rules they describe.
• Articles — the blog. Airlift USA staff write and publish these through our CMS. Each post shows its publication date and, if it has been revised, its last-updated date.

Where our data comes from

Duty, tariff and trade figures on this site come only from primary government sources:

• Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), published by the U.S. International Trade Commission — tariff line descriptions and Column 1 duty rates.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection CSMS messages — implementation guidance and effective dates for additional duties, exclusions and quota actions.
• Federal Register — the presidential proclamations, executive orders and agency notices that create Chapter 99 measures, and the dates they take effect.
• U.S. Census Bureau import statistics — import value, quantity and calculated duty by HTS number and country of origin.

When a page reports a figure, it names the dataset and the period it covers. When a rate comes from our tariff engine, the page shows the measures version that produced it.

How we check the tariff engine

We check the engine behind the tariff simulator and the import-duty pages against what importers actually pay, in two ways.

• Against U.S. Census duty data. For every HTS subheading and origin we publish, we compare the engine's effective rate with the duty the U.S. Census Bureau reports as calculated on real imports of that subheading from that origin over the period covered. The comparison is public: each import-duty page prints the Census effective rate next to our figure and explains what a gap in either direction usually means. We investigate any gap we can't account for before regenerating the affected pages.
• Against entries filed for our customers. Airlift USA does not file customs entries itself. When we coordinate an entry through our licensed broker network, the duty assessed on that entry is the reference point. If it doesn't match the engine's estimate, the entry paperwork decides which is right, and we fix any defect on our side in the engine rather than on the page.

Two limits apply to everything above:

• CBP determines the final duty on any entry. Every figure here is an estimate for planning.
• Antidumping, countervailing, excise and quota charges are outside the engine's scope and are not included in any figure on this site.

How often we review content

• Tariff measures are reviewed whenever a Federal Register notice or CBP CSMS message changes a rate or an effective date, and the generated duty pages are rebuilt against the new measures version.
• Trade statistics are refreshed when the U.S. Census Bureau publishes a new monthly release. Each page states the period it covers.
• Guides and glossary entries are reviewed when the underlying rule, form or filing deadline changes, and at least once a year otherwise.
• Articles are dated. We correct them in place rather than silently deleting them, and a corrected post shows an updated date next to its publication date.

How to report an error

If a figure, definition or date on this site is wrong, tell us and we will fix it. Email contact@airliftusa.com with the page URL and what you believe is incorrect, or use the contact form. If you can, include the HTS number and country of origin, or the CSMS or Federal Register citation you are working from.

On a data-driven page, we fix the source of the error and regenerate the page, so the same fix reaches every page built from that source. On an article, we correct the article itself and show an updated date.

Independence and disclosure

Nothing on this site is paid placement. We do not accept payment to feature a carrier, a port, a lane or a product, and no page carries sponsored content or affiliate links.

Airlift USA is a freight forwarder and licensed NVOCC, so the people who write pages about our services have a commercial interest in you buying them. The reference data those pages link to is generated from the government sources listed above and is the same whoever you ship with.

Content on this site is general information, not legal, customs or tax advice. Classification is the importer's legal responsibility.

Who writes our content

Articles and guides come from the Airlift USA editorial team: our operations, customs coordination and trade-compliance staff. When a post has a single named author, the byline links to that person's profile. Our company background, licenses and offices are on the About page.