Importing From Colombia to the US: Duties, the Trade Agreement, and Who Pays What

Importing from Colombia to the US usually means paying little or no duty, because of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, but "usually" is doing real work in that sentence: the buyer, not the manufacturer, is legally responsible for classifying the goods correctly and paying whatever duty is actually owed. The trade agreement lowers the tariff bill on qualifying goods. It doesn't remove the import process, and it doesn't shift who's on the hook if the paperwork is wrong.

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Key takeaways

• The US buyer — specifically the "importer of record" — is legally responsible for correct customs classification and for paying duty, even when a broker files the entry (CBP, checked 2026-09-22).
• Qualifying for the trade agreement's preferential rate requires a valid certificate of origin; without one, US customs has no basis to apply it even if the goods would otherwise qualify.
• Apparel (HS chapters 61 and 62) is a real, growing US import category from Colombia: about $210.5 million combined in 2025, alongside coffee at $2.76 billion and cut flowers at $1.66 billion (AJAW Trade analysis of UN Comtrade data, 2025).
• Textiles and apparel face an extra rule: "yarn-forward," meaning the yarn and fabric generally have to originate in the US or Colombia to qualify for duty-free treatment (USTR, checked 2026-09-22).
• Duty-free treatment doesn't waive separate requirements like textile labeling or product-specific rules from agencies such as the FTC — those apply regardless of tariff status.

What Colombia actually sells the US, by the numbers

Before the duty mechanics, it's worth seeing what's actually moving. Ranked by 2025 US import value from Colombia, using UN Comtrade data pulled directly from the same public API CBP and trade researchers use:

(AJAW Trade analysis of UN Comtrade data, 2025, checked 2026-09-22.) Apparel is a small slice of the total next to fuels and coffee, but at $210.5 million combined it's a real, ongoing trade lane — not a hypothetical one — and it's the category where the trade agreement's rules of origin get the most specific.

The trade agreement, in one paragraph

The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) entered into force on May 15, 2012 (USTR, checked 2026-09-22). USTR states that "over 80 percent of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial products to Colombia became duty-free upon entry-into-force," with more than half of US agricultural exports duty-free from day one (USTR, checked 2026-09-22). Trade.gov's Colombia market overview separately states the agreement "eliminated 90% of duties on products traded between countries," describing the broader bilateral picture (trade.gov, Colombia Country Commercial Guide - Market Overview, checked 2026-09-22). By 2024, total US-Colombia goods trade reached $36.7 billion, with US goods imports from Colombia at $17.7 billion, up 9.8% from the prior year (trade.gov, checked 2026-09-22). Both figures describe tariff elimination becoming the norm for qualifying goods — but "qualifying" is a real condition, not a formality.

Who actually pays duty, and who's responsible for getting it right

CBP is direct about this: "you, the importer of record, are ultimately responsible for the correctness of the entry documentation presented to CBP and all applicable duties, taxes and fees," even when you use a licensed customs broker (CBP, Tips for New Importers and Exporters, checked 2026-09-22). The importer of record — the party legally responsible for the import, typically the buyer who owns the goods or their appointed broker acting on the buyer's behalf, not the Colombian manufacturer — is the one on the hook. In practice:

• The US buyer (or their broker) files the entry and pays the duty, not the Colombian factory.
• Using a broker doesn't transfer legal responsibility; it stays with the importer of record even if the broker made the classification error. A customs broker is not required by law, but CBP notes many first-time importers use one anyway (CBP, checked 2026-09-22).
• CBP requires an importer number on entry paperwork — generally your IRS business registration number or Social Security number, or a CBP-assigned number requested on Form 5106 if you have neither (CBP, checked 2026-09-22).
• Duty isn't paid until goods have arrived at the port of entry and CBP has authorized release, so budgeting duty as a day-one cost, not a deferred one, is the safer assumption.

Getting the tariff rate right: HTS classification and the origin claim

Every import needs a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code — a standardized numerical code that classifies the product and determines the default duty rate before any trade-agreement preference is applied. CBP recommends new importers contact the relevant port of entry to speak with an import specialist and, where classification is genuinely unclear, request a written ruling rather than guessing (CBP, checked 2026-09-22). Getting the HTS code wrong doesn't just risk an incorrect duty rate; it can also disqualify a shipment from a trade-agreement preference it would otherwise have earned.

Qualifying for the TPA's preferential (often zero) tariff rate requires the goods to meet the agreement's rules of origin — a set of tests, based on where the product was made or how much of its value comes from the US or Colombia, that determine whether it counts as "originating" — not simply be shipped from Colombia. For apparel and textiles specifically, USTR describes a "yarn-forward" rule: qualifying products "must be produced using U.S. or Colombian yarns and fabrics," with elastomeric yarns like spandex also required to be regional, and a short-supply exception for inputs genuinely unavailable in the region (USTR, Textiles and Apparel in the U.S.-Colombia TPA, checked 2026-09-22).

The mechanism for claiming this treatment is a certificate of origin — a document certifying the goods were produced or transformed in Colombia under the agreement's rules. Colombia's own certificate-of-origin form, published by DIAN (Colombia's tax and customs authority), can be issued by DIAN, by authorized chambers of commerce, or self-certified by the exporter, producer or importer under penalty of perjury (DIAN, Certificado de Origen — Acuerdo de Promoción Comercial Colombia-Estados Unidos, checked 2026-09-22). That same form shows the certifier selecting one of four origin criteria under Article 4.1 of the agreement — wholly obtained in the US or Colombia, a qualifying change in tariff classification, meeting a regional value content requirement, or produced entirely from originating materials — with the applicable percentage for regional value content calculated case by case, not a single fixed number (DIAN, checked 2026-09-22). The form does specify a "blanket period" option covering multiple shipments of identical goods over a window of up to 12 months; it does not state a fixed multi-year validity period for the certificate itself. If you need a specific regional-value-content percentage or validity date for your product, confirm it with your Colombian customs broker (agencia de aduanas) or DIAN directly rather than assuming a number — this is exactly the kind of detail that varies by product and shouldn't be guessed at. Ask your Colombian supplier directly whether they can provide this certificate; without it, US customs has no basis to apply the preferential rate even if the goods would otherwise qualify.

Who pays what, mapped to the actual transaction

A quick definition, since it decides who pays for what leg of the shipment: Incoterms are standard international trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce. FOB (Free on Board) is common in Colombia-US quotes and means the seller's price ends once goods are loaded at the Colombian port — ocean freight, insurance and US-side costs are the buyer's from there, unless negotiated otherwise.

Duty isn't the only requirement, even at zero percent

A zero-duty shipment can still be turned away, or fined, for a labeling problem that has nothing to do with tariffs. CBP's own guidance for new importers points toward checking commodity-specific requirements from other federal agencies before the shipment ships, not after it arrives (CBP, checked 2026-09-22). For apparel and textiles specifically, the FTC requires a label showing fiber content in descending order by weight, the country where the product was "processed or manufactured," and either the manufacturer's name or a Registered Identification Number, all "clearly legible, conspicuous and readily accessible," with country of origin on the front of the label for garments with a neck (FTC, Threading Your Way Through the Textile and Wool Acts, checked 2026-09-22). None of this is waived by trade-agreement duty-free treatment; origin, tariff classification, and labeling are three separate compliance questions that happen to apply to the same box.

A short checklist before your first shipment

1. Confirm the correct HTS code for your product, in writing, before you commit to pricing.
2. Ask your Colombian supplier whether they can issue, or help you obtain, a valid certificate of origin under the TPA.
3. For apparel or textiles, confirm the fabric and any elastomeric yarn's origin, since that determines yarn-forward eligibility.
4. Confirm the Incoterm (FOB is common) so you know exactly which costs are already in the quoted price.
5. Decide whether you're filing entries yourself or using a broker, understanding that legal responsibility stays with you either way.
6. Budget duty, where owed, as a cost due at entry, not a deferred one.
7. Keep your entry documentation — CBP-related recordkeeping obligations commonly run for several years.

Where AJAW fits, honestly

AJAW Trade doesn't file customs entries or give customs-brokerage advice — that stays between you, your broker, and CBP. What AJAW does: hold the buyer's payment for the merchandise and release it to the manufacturer only once the buyer confirms delivery, rather than asking a first-time buyer to wire a Colombian factory directly, with the manufacturer paying a 10% commission rather than the buyer. See how that protection works at /protection and /secure-payments, what happens if something goes wrong at /refunds, and the platform's terms at /terms.

If you're a buyer: browse verified Colombian manufacturers at /manufacturers — including the apparel-focused /manufacturers/colombia/waist-trainer-and-shapewear-fajas category — or search the catalog at /search, and post a sourcing request at /rfq. If you manufacture in Colombia and want US buyers to find you directly, list your products free at /sell. For the exporter's side of this same paperwork, see Cómo exportar a Estados Unidos desde Colombia.