To import honey into the US, you register your foreign supplier’s facility with the FDA, file an electronic prior notice before the shipment lands, submit CBP entry documents backed by a customs bond, and pay any duties owed, including anti-dumping duties that on some countries of origin run well above 100% of the honey’s value. Honey enters under Harmonized Tariff Schedule code 0409.00.00. The base tariff is modest; the anti-dumping duties, food-safety rules, and paperwork are what actually decide whether a shipment clears the port.
Anti-Dumping Duties Decide the Economics
Before anything else, check whether your source country carries an anti-dumping duty order. The US has active orders on raw honey from China, Argentina, Brazil, India, and Vietnam, because the Commerce Department found producers in those countries were selling honey below fair value in the US market. These duties are collected on top of the base tariff and must be deposited with CBP at entry.
China has been under anti-dumping duties on honey since December 2001. Rates from the original investigation ran from about 26% to nearly 184%, with a China-wide entity rate of 183.80% for exporters without an individual rate.1Federal Register. Honey From the Peoples Republic of China: Final Results of First Antidumping Duty Administrative Review At those rates, importing Chinese honey is not commercially viable, and that is the intended effect.
In 2022, Commerce issued orders on raw honey from four more countries.2Federal Register. Raw Honey From Argentina, Brazil, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders Argentina rates run from 9.17% to 49.44% with an “all others” rate of 16.92%. Brazil runs 7.89% to 83.72% with an “all others” rate of 7.89%. India runs 5.52% to 6.24% with an “all others” rate of 5.87%. Vietnam runs 58.74% to 61.27% with a Vietnam-wide rate of 60.03%.
The rate you actually pay depends on the specific exporter. If your supplier has no individually assigned rate, you pay the “all others” or country-wide rate, which is usually the highest. Calculate the total landed cost including the AD deposit before you commit to a purchase order; importers who skip this step regularly find their margins wiped out on arrival.
A word on routing. The heavy rates, especially on Chinese honey, have produced a long history of transshipment schemes, where honey is moved through a third country to disguise its origin. If CBP concludes a shipment was transshipped to evade an order, the importer owes the full duty, may lose the goods to seizure, and can face criminal exposure. Keep documentation that proves true country of origin for every shipment, and vet your supply chain rather than trusting a broker’s reassurance.
What the Honey Itself Has to Be
The FDA treats honey as a single-ingredient food. A jar labeled “honey” cannot contain added corn syrup, rice syrup, cane sugar, water, or any other substance. Blends with sweeteners cannot legally use the name “honey” on the label.3Food and Drug Administration. Proper Labeling of Honey and Honey Products Economic adulteration is one of the most common reasons the FDA refuses honey at the port, and the agency actively tests imported samples.4U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Releases Report on Economically Motivated Adulteration in Honey
Labeling
Every container must show the common name “honey,” net quantity, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, along with the country of origin.5Food and Drug Administration. Guidance for Industry: Proper Labeling of Honey and Honey Products Federal law separately requires every imported article to be marked with the English name of its country of origin, conspicuously and permanently. Honey without proper origin marking is hit with an additional 10% ad valorem duty and held until the marking is corrected or the extra duty deposited.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 US Code 1304 – Marking of Imported Articles and Containers
Drug Residues
The FDA maintains an import alert that authorizes detention without physical examination of honey with unsafe drug residues. Three antibiotic classes are flatly prohibited because the FDA has never approved them for honey bees: chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and fluoroquinolones. Any detectable residue makes the honey adulterated.7U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Detention Without Physical Examination of Honey and Blended Syrup Due to Unsafe Drug Residues
Three other antibiotics are allowed only up to set tolerances: tylosin at 500 parts per billion, oxytetracycline at 750 ppb (measured as the sum of tetracycline residues), and lincomycin at 750 ppb. Streptomycin and sulfathiazole have also triggered detentions. Once a shipment is flagged, the burden is on you to prove the honey is safe. Get laboratory testing certificates from your supplier before the honey ships, not after CBP holds it.
Organic Honey
Honey sold as organic in the US needs an NOP Import Certificate issued by a USDA-accredited certifying agent. Since March 2024, every shipment of organic agricultural product must have this electronic certificate recorded in the USDA Organic INTEGRITY Database. The exporter requests the certificate from their certifier; you enter it in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) at entry, one certificate per commodity or HTS code per shipment.8Agricultural Marketing Service. Electronic Organic Import Certificates No certificate, no organic label, regardless of how the honey was produced.
Setting Up the Supplier Side
Foreign Facility Registration
Every foreign facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds honey bound for US consumption must be registered with the FDA and must designate a US agent.9U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Registration of Food Facilities and Other Submissions Registration renews between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year.10U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2024 Food Facility Biennial Registration Renewal Honey from an unregistered facility is refused at the port.
Foreign Supplier Verification Program
Under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, every importer of human food must maintain a Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) that documents the supplier is producing food at a level of public health protection equivalent to US preventive controls and manufacturing practice requirements. For honey, that means documenting the supplier’s processes, verifying the product is not adulterated, and confirming allergen labeling.11U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What Do Importers Need to Know About FSVP
When you offer honey for entry, enter the entity role code “FSV” in ACE along with your name, email, and a unique facility identifier such as a DUNS number. Miss the code, and CBP can hold the shipment at the port.
A “very small importer” gets modified, lighter FSVP requirements. For human food, that means averaging less than $1 million per year in combined sales and US market value of imported food, measured over the preceding three-year period.12eCFR. 21 CFR 1.500 – Definitions If you qualify, document that status before your first import and update it annually by December 31.
Paperwork at the Port
FDA Prior Notice
Every food shipment needs advance electronic notice to the FDA. Lead times depend on mode of transport:13eCFR. 21 CFR 1.279 – When Must Prior Notice Be Submitted to FDA
- Ocean: at least 8 hours before arrival
- Air: at least 4 hours before arrival
- Rail: at least 4 hours before arrival
- Road: at least 2 hours before arrival
Prior notice includes product details, the manufacturer, shipper, importer, consignee, and expected arrival. File it through the FDA’s Prior Notice System Interface or through ACE.14Food and Drug Administration. Prior Notice of Imported Foods No confirmed prior notice, no entry.
CBP Entry Documents
You have 15 calendar days after arrival at the port to file entry documentation with CBP.15eCFR. 19 CFR 142.2 – Time for Filing Entry The package includes:
- CBP Form 3461 (or its ACE equivalent)
- Commercial invoice showing buyer, seller, description, quantity, price, and terms
- Packing list with contents, weights, and dimensions
- Bill of lading or air waybill
- Evidence of a customs bond
Your importer number goes on the entry forms. That is normally your IRS Employer Identification Number, or your Social Security number if you have no EIN.16USAGov. How to Get an Import License or Permit
Customs Bond
Because honey is FDA-regulated, a customs bond is required regardless of shipment value. The usual $2,500 threshold that lets small shipments enter without a bond does not apply.17U.S. Customs and Border Protection. When Is a Customs Bond Required You can buy a single-entry bond per shipment or a continuous bond covering all imports for 12 months. A continuous bond is set at 10% of the duties, taxes, and fees paid over the previous 12 months, minimum $100.18U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bonds – How Are Continuous and Single Entry Bond Amounts Determined If you are paying significant anti-dumping duties, expect the bond amount to be substantial.
Order of Operations for a Real Shipment
The pieces fit together in a predictable sequence. Verify your supplier’s FDA facility registration and build your FSVP file. Run the numbers with the applicable anti-dumping rate baked in. Before the honey lands, file the FDA prior notice within the window for its mode of transport. Many importers use a licensed customs broker for the prior notice and CBP filings, which is worth the cost given how many pieces have to line up. Within 15 days of arrival, file the CBP entry package. At the port, CBP reviews paperwork and assesses duties; the FDA can inspect the shipment, review labels, or pull samples for adulteration and residue testing. If your supplier is on the FDA’s detention-without-physical-examination list, expect an automatic hold that only clears when you produce evidence of compliance. Once duties are paid or bonded and both agencies sign off, the honey is released.
Why Shipments Get Refused
Adulteration is the biggest single cause of FDA refusal, whether from prohibited antibiotics, undeclared sweeteners, or residues above tolerance. Mislabeling, including wrong or missing country of origin, triggers both FDA and CBP action.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 US Code 1595a – Aiding Unlawful Importation Honey from an unregistered foreign facility is refused automatically, as is honey arriving without confirmed prior notice.
Deliberately concealing or removing country-of-origin marking is a criminal matter, carrying fines up to $100,000 and imprisonment for a first offense and up to $250,000 for later violations.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 US Code 1304 – Marking of Imported Articles and Containers Attempting to evade an anti-dumping order by transshipping through a third country exposes the importer to civil penalties and federal criminal prosecution on top of the duties owed.
A Note on USDA Grading
USDA quality grades (A, B, C, and substandard) are voluntary and do not affect whether honey clears customs.20Agricultural Marketing Service. Extracted Honey Grades and Standards Some buyers require graded honey, so the system matters for marketability and price once the product is inside the country, but skipping it will not hold up a shipment at the port.