Import and export successfully

Both import and export is one of the most important factors affecting the economy of a country , in this case China. It is very important to know that countries do not produce only what they consume, nor do they consume only what they produce, so the relationship between countries causes the import and export of articles and services to arise , making the flow of imports and exports represent the foreign trade of a country. So, what do I need to know to import and export goods in China?

Anyone can carry out a transport operation of goods from outside the European Community, for example, buying online from a foreign company and at the time of entry of said goods into Community territory, it will be classified as an import and will therefore adopt the role of importer.

Companies or freelancers that habitually import articles from a third country will count as companies with a business activity that includes the import of merchandise. Therefore, they should be expanding the economic activities tax in the corresponding heading.

What is an import?

An import is the effective transportation of goods or merchandise from abroad. These goods are acquired by a country for distribution within it. In this type of operation, any kind of merchandise can be transported as long as they meet the border requirements.

What is an export?

Contrary to import, export occurs when merchandise is sent outside the national territory to another country that does not belong to an Asian Member State, that is, a third country.

Requirements to import a product successfully

Find out about the product.

It will be vitally important that you make sure if the product you want to import has an approval in your country. If not, you must inform yourself about the procedures to be carried out to regulate said product or merchandise.

Consider whether to hire a customs broker.

This figure will be of great help to us, especially in the hardest-to-access ports where through the agent we obtain security regarding the presentation and declaration of imported goods.
Choose the product you import well.

That is, it will not make sense, for example, for the import and export of mobile phones from China, the logical thing will be that we do it with devices that have brands from that country. It would not make any sense that we do it with mobile devices of German or American brands, since it would make the product very expensive.
Do not sell before continuing to import.

You cannot sell the wolf's skin before hunting it, this means that we must wait to sell imported products before continuing to import more and more merchandise.
Pay attention to additional documentation.

We must be quite clear about this aspect, since if the product we intend to purchase requires some documentation to carry out this operation and we do not have it at the required time, the merchandise will not be able to enter the country.

Take a look at what you import online.

Today, there are numerous means by which we can import via the Internet. However, we should not blindly trust these means, paying special attention to alarmingly low prices or product samples, which could be used by the seller as a "hook" and not correspond to the actual quality of the product.

Requirements to export a product successfully

Conduct a market study.

Doing a preliminary analysis of the market where we are going to import and export , that is, both of its economic situation and of the sectors that are on the rise or the competition that we are going to have is essential when carrying out international operations such as import and export.

Conduct a study of potential customers.

As well as analyzing the country to which we are going to go, knowledge of the people and their behavior as clients is also a factor that we must take into account. We need to know data related to consumer habits and even their thoughts, ideologies and values, which will be what will most influence their wishes and, therefore, their purchases.

Work on your marketing strategies.

As you might expect, for import and export marketing campaigns must be targeted to potential customers in an appropriate way. Although it seems as logical as it is easy, it is not always so and there are many situations in which marketing strategies fail to reach our clients as we wish. In this regard, there is one thing that you must be clear about, if we achieve a campaign that has sufficient diffusion for its development and to which we have the possibility of introducing variations depending on the market we are targeting, we will have guaranteed success.

Sell before continuing to produce.

If we export more products than we are able to sell, we will have a volume of product in quantities much higher than what our customers demand from us. Although it seems obvious, it is one of the most frequent errors in import and export, so we should not leave this aspect aside.
Tie the dots.

Finally, before starting any operation of this type, we must make sure that we have spent the necessary time on aspects related to distribution channels, logistics, security, partners in third countries, agents, etc.
Documents to import and export

Some of the documents to export that are needed in this type of operations in order to expand the sales of your company in the foreign market are:

Pro-Forma Invoice: It must be presented by the exporter to the importer in English or in the language of the country of destination. It can be a fax, a formal contract or a form that contains information to confirm the business (quantity, price, transport, packaging, payment method and conditions of sale). This information is necessary so that the importer can open a letter of credit for the issuance of securities.

Cargo invoice: This document must always go with the merchandise, that is, from the moment it leaves the agreed warehouse or establishment until it reaches the place of shipment to its final destination.

Commercial Invoice: This document represents the commercial operation. It must have all the specifications and data that from the beginning were declared in the pro-forma invoice, as well as the information related to the effective confirmation of the export. The commercial invoice represents the commercial operation and formalizes the transfer of ownership of the merchandise to the buyer.

Certificate or Bill of Lading: Represents the transport contract and proof of delivery of the merchandise, constituting proof of shipment. It is issued by the carrier company or your agent.

Packing List: It is prepared by the exporter and includes a list of volumes and a description of their contents.
Certificate of Origin: This document proves that the product originates from the exporting country.

Transport documents: Next, we list the transport documents for import and export that by themselves constitute contracts, and are usually used as an acknowledgment of receipt that certifies that the cargo has been collected in the destination country, depending on the type of transport that has been used, the following documents will be issued:

CMR international road transport document

Maritime bill of lading B / L (Bill of Lading): The Bill of Lading written by the agent or transport company that executes the maritime transport and approved by the captain of the vessel, certifies the reception of the cargo on board, the circumstances in which the transportation service is performed together with the commitment to deliver the cargo at the port of destination determined by the legal holder of the bill of lading. Therefore, the Bill of Lading composes the cargo receipt together with the cargo transportation contract.
Air Waybill (AWB)
Insurance policy: Depending on the agreement between the executing parties, in the case of export, the exporting agent contracts an insurance policy for the cargo.

The actors and their obligations in import and export

In an international sale and purchase maneuver there are two main actors : the buyer and the seller, that is to say: the importer and the exporter . Both are bound by the contract that they certify by virtue of which, and by mutual and free agreement, one must deliver certain goods to the other in exchange for a certain sum of money (which corresponds to their value at a certain price). The seller is obliged to make the economic consideration, either at the same moment in which the goods are delivered, or in advance, depending on the requirements of the agreed conditions. In return, the buyer will receive the desired merchandise, shipped appropriately by the seller.

Since an operation of this type implies that the legal subjects are in different countries, the movement of the goods is forced to cross borders. The process can be summarized with the following steps:

• The contract is signed and the conditions are agreed .
• The merchandise leaves the seller's country. Export occurs.
• The goods are transported until they reach the border of the buyer's territory.
• The merchandise crosses the border of the buyer's country and receives it. Import takes place.

It may happen that the same company is in charge of offering both import and export services, for example, those organizations that supply goods to national manufacturers who want to sell abroad.
When is my company ready to import or export China?

The first thing to do will be to carry out a self-evaluation of your company, that is, to be very clear about both your strengths and your weaknesses and assess whether your business will be able to face this type of international operations. However, the most important thing apart from that self-evaluation carried out is the commitment that you want to assume regarding the determination to carry out an import or export of your goods, that is, to start internationalizing the business.

In addition, it will be very important that you have an import / export department in charge of carrying out this type of operations and the procedures they require through a team specialized in international trade, languages and personal skills to successfully negotiate with the different markets to which we can run our operations.

Which provider to use to export or import?

When an import is going to be carried out, it is very important to find a transport provider that ensures reliability to carry out the transport. We make sure that suppliers are trustworthy and that they always offer a quality service. We will be happy to help you with all the documentation you need for import or export, as well as our agents will offer you a personal treatment that will help guide you through the process. We are uniting the main logistics nodes at an international level in such a way that we facilitate the imports and exports of our clients.

What are the most frequent errors when importing and exporting?

In the first place, a very frequent error is that of not having a customs agent who has the necessary experience to make sure that the pertinent customs provisions are properly complied with, as well as with all the information required for these operations of a nature. International. Most importers tend to import without having this customs agent who will be in charge of carrying out the clearance, which will probably generate unnecessary expenses for the merchandise in the specific port.

Another error, which may seem obvious and is not so obvious, is the absence of INCOTERM on the invoice. INCOTERM is the determinant of the obligations and costs assumed by both parties in international operations; therefore it must always be included in operational documents such as the invoice.
Thirdly, we find another error that occurs when unloading the goods, and that is that in many situations the fact that the goods are not properly checked once they are made available to the recipient occurs, which is which will imply an incidence in the delivery.

Finally, we find ourselves with documentation problems , in relation to not carrying out a correct review of the permits that are going to be required in the Spanish customs office or in the country of origin of the merchandise.

Do you want to import or export your merchandise?

EXAMPLE: Import car China

To import a car from China or any other type of product, you cannot leave the transport in the hands of just anyone, since it is a product of high value that we do not want it to suffer any damage during its transfer from China. Therefore, to import a car from China it is best to trust a safe transport company that allows you to have the peace of mind of a high quality of service.

Therefore, if you need to import a car from China, not only look at the price, but also pay close attention to the quality and assurance that each transport company provides you.
With Jadatrade you can send your goods nationally and internationally, obtaining the best prices to import and export from China or any other type of transport through our free space system that allows us to offer you rates that adapt to your needs and much more competitive than most transport companies.