Insights

Practitioner-level guides on trade logistics: customs, ocean and air freight, and duty drawback.

2026-08-26

What Is Transshipment? Cargo That Clears No Customs in Korea Can Still Lose Its FTA Origin

Transshipped cargo skips import, export, and re-export clearance entirely. It stays under customs control instead, and origin breaks the moment anyone touches the goods. The statutes, the deadlines, and the non-manipulation certificate.

2026-08-25

Supplier Declarations Behind a Korean Certificate of Origin: What Your Exporter Must Hold for 5 Years

A Korean certificate of origin rests on supplier declarations kept for five years. What must exist, who signs it, the 12-month periodic declaration, and what breaks under verification.

2026-08-24

ISPM 15 for Shipments to Korea: No Treatment Mark on the Pallet Means Destruction or Re-Export

What gets regulated is not the cargo but the wood holding it up. Scope and exclusions, treatment thresholds, how the mark is built, and the destruction or re-export order when it is absent.

2026-08-19

Merchanting vs Brokerage Trade in Korea: What Changes When a Korean Company Sits in the Middle

Merchanting trade is a defined term in Korean regulation; brokerage is not. Export credit is booked on the margin at the payment date, and VAT follows a different article for each.

2026-08-18

Korea Customs Valuation: What Korean Customs Adds to Your Invoice Before Charging Duty

Duty in Korea is charged on a built-up value, not on your invoice. The six additions, the four deductions, the six-step fallback order, and the advance ruling open to related-party pricing.

2026-08-14

Korea's FTA Rules of Origin: Why a Certificate Alone Does Not Get the Preferential Rate

A certificate evidences origin; it does not create it. The three qualifying tests, the direct-transport rule, advance rulings open to exporters, and the penalty for getting it wrong.

2026-08-13

Bonded Storage in Korea: 6 Months to Store, 30 Days to Declare, and Why Bonded Transport Does Not Reset the Clock

Storage limits and declaration deadlines are separate clocks in Korea. Limits by facility, the tiered late-declaration penalty, and bonded transport windows, cited to statute.

2026-08-12

Selling Food into Korea: Overseas Facility Registration, the 10-Day Lab Test on Your First Shipment, and the 5-Year Same-Product Rule

Food entering Korea runs on two tracks: customs clearance and a separate MFDS import declaration. Here is what gates the first shipment and what keeps later ones at a 2-day document check.

2026-08-11

Selling Toys and Children's Products in Korea: KC Safety Confirmation, Same-Model Certificates, and Why Free Samples Are Not Exempt

Korea's children's product rules have no exempt tier. How the three KC tiers work, what customs checks on every shipment, and why your parts and colors drive the test cost.

2026-08-10

Importing Korean Aluminum Windows into the EU: Why Zero Tariff Is Not the Gate

For a buyer of Korean aluminum windows, the real gate is not the tariff but CE marking. EN 14351-1 requires notified-body testing, and the Declaration of Performance stays the manufacturer's responsibility even without an EU representative. Here is HS 7610 duties, origin proof, and who is actually liable.

2026-08-07

Sourcing Korean Fabrics and Trims: FTA Cumulation, the EVFTA Korean Fabric Rule, and What UFLPA Asks For

For a factory buying Korean fabric, the paperwork at the material stage decides the duty on the finished garment months later. Here is FTA cumulation, the EVFTA rule treating Korean fabric as Vietnamese, Indonesia's cotton safeguard exemption for Korea, and UFLPA tracing.

2026-08-06

Importing Korean Auto Parts into the EU: Why Zero Tariff Is Not the Gate

For a buyer of Korean auto parts, the real gate is not the tariff but certification. Parts like brakes, lighting and glazing each carry an E-mark, and even the zero tariff needs an approved-exporter origin declaration. Here are HS 8708 duties, the OE-versus-aftermarket split, and REACH and ELV.

2026-08-05

Importing Korean Medical Devices: Why an FDA 510(k) Is Only Half the Gate for X-ray Equipment

For a buyer of Korean medical devices, the real gate is not the ship but the FDA. An X-ray device like a C-arm clears radiation performance standards on top of a 510(k), establishment registration and QMSR. Here is the QMSR that took effect in 2026 and duty-free HS 9022.

2026-08-04

Importing Korean Soy Sauce and Gochujang: FDA Acidified-Food Filing, the Sesame Allergen, and KORUS Duty-Free

For a buyer of Korean sauce, the real gate is not the ship but the FDA. Fermented pastes can fall under acidified or low-acid canned food rules with an FCE process filing, plus soy, wheat and sesame allergen labels, a halal-alcohol question, and KORUS duty-free.

2026-08-03

Importing Korean Steel and Tinplate: Why Section 232's 50% Tariff, the EU Safeguard and CBAM Beat the FTA

For a buyer of Korean steel, the real cost is not the freight or the base tariff, it is the trade remedies an FTA does not remove: US Section 232 at 50%, the EU safeguard, and CBAM. Here is what you actually pay in 2026.

2026-07-31

Importing Korean Seaweed (Gim/Nori): FDA Registration, FSVP, Indonesia's 2026 Halal Rule, and Dried vs Seasoned

For a buyer of Korean seaweed, the real gate is not the ship but your destination's food regulation. Dried and seasoned laver differ in both HS code and rules. Here is FDA registration and FSVP, the sesame allergen label, Indonesia's 2026 halal mandate, and the sanitary and origin documents you need.

2026-07-29

Shipping Dangerous Goods by Sea: Why Booking as General Cargo Gets Refused, and How IMDG Classes, UN Numbers, and Lithium Batteries Work

Lithium batteries, perfume, and aerosols are dangerous goods, so booking them as general cargo gets refused. How the IMDG nine classes and UN numbers work, lithium battery rules, carrier pre-approval, and container inspection, in practice.

2026-07-28

Exporting Apparel and Footwear to Korea: Freight Is Cheap, but 13% Duty and FTA Origin Decide Your Buyer's Cost

Selling apparel or footwear into Korea? Freight is cheap; 13% duty and FTA origin decide your buyer's cost. How the cut-and-sew origin rule, the certificate you issue, LCL, and KC textile safety work, from the exporter's side.

2026-07-24

Exporting Stone to Korea: Weight Fills the Container Before Volume, Plus Road Limits, VGM Duty, and FTA Relief for Marble and Granite

Selling marble or granite into Korea? Stone fills a container by weight, not volume. How to load for Korea's road limits, file your VGM as shipper, and give your buyer FTA duty relief, from the exporter's side.

2026-07-23

Exporting Furniture to Korea: Priced by Volume Not Weight, Plus FTA Duty Relief, KC Safety, and the ISPM15 Pallet Trap

Selling furniture into Korea? It ships by volume (CBM), not weight. How to give your Korean buyer FTA duty relief, meet KC safety rules, and pass the ISPM15 pallet check, from the exporter's side.

2026-07-22

Which Incoterms Do Traders Really Use? FOB Is 59% of 10,000+ Real Shipments

What Incoterms traders really use, from 10,000+ real Portlogics shipments plus national trade data: FOB 59%, mostly imports, and the container trap.

2026-07-22

Why Ocean Freight Has So Many Add-Ons: THC, BAF, LSS and CAF Surcharges Decoded

THC, BAF, LSS, CAF, EBS, and CIC decoded across four groups: fuel and currency, terminal, documentation, and market surcharges. A practical look at who pays and what is negotiable.

2026-07-21

Korea's Safe Trucking Rate August Revision: Fuel Indexation Raises FCL Haulage (Effective Aug 1, 2026)

The August fuel-indexation revision of Korea's safe trucking rate (effective Aug 1). How the 3-month, 50-won fuel trigger works, roughly a 7% rise in container round-trip haulage, the new carrier-to-carrier rate, and what shippers should check in their H2 budget.

2026-07-21

Exporting Cosmetics? FDA, NMPA and CPNP Come Before Freight: A K-Beauty Export Guide

A market-by-market certification map (US MoCRA, China NMPA, EU CPNP) plus export customs, INCI labeling, and temperature/dangerous-goods shipping for K-beauty. For cosmetics, regulation is the first gate, not freight.

2026-07-21

Exporting Cosmetics to the US: No MoCRA, No Sale. FDA Facility Registration, Responsible Person, Product Listing

MoCRA facility registration, product listing, responsible person, safety substantiation, adverse event reporting, and the small-business exemption. The US has no pre-approval, but distribution without registration is unlawful.

2026-07-21

Exporting Cosmetics to China: Registration or Filing First. NMPA, Domestic Responsible Person, and CBEC

Registration for special cosmetics vs filing for general, the domestic responsible person, the conditional animal testing exemption, efficacy evaluation, and the CBEC route that bypasses registration. China export starts with the product type split.

2026-07-21

Exporting Cosmetics to the EU: No In-Market Responsible Person, No Notification. CPNP, CPSR, and PIF

In-market responsible person, CPNP notification, the safety report (CPSR), a product information file (PIF) kept for 10 years, the animal testing ban, and the UK split. The EU has no pre-approval, but without an in-market responsible person you cannot even notify.

2026-07-21

Shipping Cosmetics for Export: Temperature and Alcohol Are the Traps. Dangerous Goods (UN1266), LCL, Air, and Ocean

Temperature (freezing and heat), the dangerous-goods (UN1266) classification of alcohol-based products, shelf life and lead time, and the choice of air, FCL, and LCL. Cosmetics split again at shipping even after clearing regulation.

2026-07-20

Marine Cargo Insurance: Who Pays When Cargo Is Lost, and What ICC (A/B/C), CIF, and CIP Actually Cover

How ICC (A/B/C) cover differs, why the insured amount is 110% of CIF, who buys the policy under each Incoterm, and the claim procedure after a loss. Once risk has passed to you, an uninsured loss is yours alone.

2026-07-16

Types of Bill of Lading (B/L): Original, Surrendered, Sea Waybill, and Switch B/L Explained

The three functions of a bill of lading and the differences between Original, Surrendered, Sea Waybill, and Switch B/L: when to use which, plus the trap where a late original turns into demurrage.

2026-07-16

Certificate of Origin and FTA Duty: How to Reach a 0% Preferential Rate, and Self vs. Authority Issuance

The role of the certificate of origin in claiming an FTA preferential rate, self-issuance vs. authority issuance, approved exporters, and claiming preference within one year of import. A practical guide to cutting duty to 0%.

2026-07-16

CBM Calculation and Volumetric Weight (Revenue Ton): Why LCL and Air Freight Aren't Priced by Weight Alone

How to calculate CBM and volumetric weight, the difference between ocean revenue ton (R/T) and air volumetric weight (÷6,000), and container capacity benchmarks. A practical look at why bulky cargo isn't priced by weight alone.

2026-07-14

What Is Export Customs Clearance? The 4 Steps and Korea's 30-Day Loading Deadline

Korea's export customs clearance in 4 steps, from export declaration to loading. Documents, the 30-day loading deadline, and the checkpoints that keep your acceptance from being cancelled. A guide for exporters.

2026-07-13

What Is a WMS? Warehouse Management System vs Inventory Software, ERP and TMS

What a WMS does, how it differs from ERP and TMS, its core functions and benefits. A guide for teams standardizing warehouse and inventory operations.

2026-07-10

Container Dimensions and CBM: 20ft, 40ft and High Cube Internal Sizes, Tare and Payload Limits

Dimensions and CBM for 20ft, 40ft, and high cube containers, the special container types, and how to pick the right container for your cargo. A practical shipping guide.

2026-07-09

Import Customs Clearance in Korea: 5 Steps, Documents, and Duty/VAT

Korean import customs in 5 steps, from arrival to release. Required documents, filing timing, and the checkpoints that keep clearance from stalling. A guide for import teams.

2026-07-09

What Are Demurrage and Detention (D&D)?

How demurrage and detention differ, how storage fits in, why the charges happen, and how to reduce them. A guide for shippers avoiding surprise invoices.

2026-07-07

What Is a Freight Forwarder, and How to Choose a Good One

What a forwarder does, how it differs from a carrier, five criteria for choosing a good one, and what to prepare when requesting a quote. A practical guide for a first-time import or export coordinator.

2026-07-07

Incoterms 2020: All 11 Rules, FOB, CIF & DDP

The 11 Incoterms with a responsibility matrix, the FOB vs CIF risk-versus-cost trap, how to choose, and common mistakes. A practical guide for setting trade terms.

2026-07-07

LCL vs FCL: How to Choose Your Ocean Freight

LCL vs FCL, the break-even point, how CBM and revenue-ton pricing work, and every line on an ocean freight quote. A practical guide for first-time shippers.

2026-07-07

Air Freight Guide: vs Ocean, and How Rates Work

Air vs ocean, how chargeable (volumetric) weight is calculated, and lead time and cautions. A practical guide for teams new to air cargo.

2026-07-07

What Is 3PL? 1PL to 4PL Logistics Explained

3PL explained, 1PL to 4PL, 3PL vs fulfillment, and when outsourcing logistics pays off. A guide for teams weighing logistics outsourcing.

2026-07-07

What Is Fulfillment? Fulfillment vs 3PL Explained

Fulfillment explained, fulfillment vs 3PL, the inbound-to-returns process, and when to outsource. A guide for online sellers weighing logistics.

2026-07-07

What Is a TMS (Transportation Management System)?

What a TMS does, how it differs from a WMS, its benefits, and what to check when selecting one. A guide for teams standardizing transport operations.

2026-07-07

Customs Duty Drawback in Korea: You Have 5 Years to Claim, Not 2

From individual vs fixed-rate drawback to the two deadlines (5-year claim, 2-year look-back), documents, and procedure: a Korea customs duty drawback guide so exporters never have to search twice.

2026-07-07

What Is an HS Code? Structure and How to Look It Up

HS code structure (6-digit international core, 10-digit HSK), why it sets duty and requirements, how to look one up, and misclassification risk. A guide for classifying goods.