How to Select an Agency to Avoid Risks Such as Customs Clearance, Payment Collection and Anti-Dumping for Export to South America

Mandatory Certification Requirements at Destination Port

I once encountered Mr.Lam who shipped a batch of hardware tools to Brazil.Since he did not know in advance that Brazil requires INMETRO mandatory certification for such products,he submitted the materials only after the goods arrived at the port,and finally the goods were detained at the port for three months,forcing him to abandon the shipment and suffer losses of more than 200,000 yuan.Import certification rules in South American countries are fragmented,with different requirements for different product categories.Without a local agency to check in advance,problems are likely to occur.

Common mandatory certifications include Brazil’s INMETRO Certification,Argentina’s IRAM Certification,Chile’s SEC Electrical Certification,Colombia’s ICONTECH Certification,etc.For both general cargo and electromechanical products,pre-certification review must be completed before shipment.Do not take chances by shipping first and supplementing materials later.

Anti-Dumping Alert and Duty Planning

In 2026,many South American countries still maintain anti-dumping measures against multiple categories of products exported from China,covering major categories such as steel products,textiles,bicycles,glass products,etc.The anti-dumping duty for some categories exceeds 100%.Without advance planning,the entire profit of the order will be completely eroded.

Compliant Certificate of Origin is the core of duty reduction.Many enterprises make their own Certificates of Origin,which are not accepted by destination port customs if the declared elements are inconsistent with the actual goods,making them ineligible for preferential tariff treatment.We will check the consistency of declared elements in advance to ensure the Certificate of Origin meets destination port customs requirements,effectively helping clients reduce duties.

Export Tax Ref Optimization

Many South American orders use EXW terms.Many small and medium-sized export enterprises are not familiar with the tax refund process themselves,and under-refund and delayed refund are very common.Some enterprises also affect the tax refund progress or even trigger inspections due to incorrect HS code classification.

Zhongshitong is headquartered at Shanghai International Trade Center,supporting cross-port declaration across China.No matter whether the goods are exported from Ningbo,Guangzhou or Qingdao ports,we can complete the entire process of classification,declaration,and tax refund uniformly.Current customs control inspections have extremely high requirements for HS code classification accuracy.We will conduct pre-classification reviews in advance and check the consistency of declared elements with actual goods to avoid triggering inspections due to classification errors,which would affect tax refund and customs clearance efficiency.

According to the characteristics of South American orders,we will sort out the nodes of the tax refund process in advance,organize all filing materials in advance,and ensure enterprises can receive tax refunds on time without tying up working capital.

Payment Collection Security Guarantee

Payment collection risks in South American trade are much higher than those in European and American markets.I once encountered Mr.Qin who shipped a batch of furniture to Argentina.The buyer required to submit the original Bill of Lading (B/L) first before paying the final balance.Mr.Qin agreed due to long-term cooperation.As a result,after the buyer received the B/L and completed customs clearance,they began to delay the final balance payment.Finally,after more than a year,only 30% of the payment was recovered.Common payment collection and property right risks in South American export include:

• Most South American countries mandatorily require original B/L for customs clearance and do not accept telex release B/L.Improper control of property right transfer can easily lead to non-delivery against payment without B/L.
• Multiple South American countries have strict foreign exchange control,and buyer payment is easily delayed.Exchange rate fluctuations will bring additional exchange losses to export enterprises.
• Some small and medium-sized buyers have opaque credit records.Without advance risk control checks,it is easy to suffer both goods and funds loss.

When handling South American export orders,we will help clients control the transfer rhythm of original B/L.All B/L delivery is bound to payment progress,so that buyers will not get property right in advance.At the same time,in view of large exchange rate fluctuations in 2026,we support advance foreign exchange locking operations,helping clients lock exchange rate differentials and avoid exchange loss risks.

It should be noted that many irregular export to South America agencies will deliberately conceal additional fees at destination ports,such as document exchange fees,container detention fees,terminal operation fees,etc.and only add price after goods arrive at the port.We will list all fees including domestic section,ocean shipping section,and destination port section before shipment,and will not add any fees midway.

We have been engaged in foreign trade agency since around 2000,and have long-term and stable cooperation relationships with local agencies at major ports in South America,enabling us to obtain latest information on local regulatory rules in the first time.Since 2026,three South American countries have updated import declaration requirements,which we have synchronized to all cooperative clients in advance,and no enterprise has encountered problems due to policy changes.Whether you are exporting to South America for the first time,or have encountered problems in previous self-handling operations,you can consult us to sort out risk points in the entire process.