INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Locating and hiring a licensed customs broker can make your importation process much easier. This professional facilitates communication between you and the government, fills out and files necessary paperwork, and can help you navigate import regulations. They can also help estimate import costs and how long the import process will take. Just make sure that you can cover their fee with the sale of your imported products. Neglecting compliance can be very costly. This may force you to pay expensive and unexpected customs duties, such as the anti-dumping duty, as well as risk delaying your customs clearance. This will cost you expensive storage fees at a railway station or container yard. Avoid these expenses by hiring a qualified customs broker. Find a certified broker by searching on the website for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America. Work with your customs broker to identify which licenses and permits you will need, if any. Apply for them through the appropriate US government channels and wait for your application to be accepted before placing an import order. You will need a specialized license to import items that fall under certain categories, such as food products, plants, animal products, prescription medication, trademarked items (brand name or designer goods), and copyrighted items (CDs, DVDs, etc.). The specific licenses needed for each good may come from different government agencies. You can find which licenses you need by visiting the US Customs and Border Patrol's website and searching for "licenses and permits." The ISF is a document specific to items shipped by sea freight that provides advance shipment information to US Customs. This document should be filed 24 hours before shipment sets sail. If this is not done by either you or your broker, you may have to pay a $5,000 fine. The data points required on the ISF are: Identities of the buyer and seller. Importer of Record number. Consignee numbers. Country of Origin. Ship to party. Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States number (if your Chinese supplier has some export experience, he should have the harmonized schedule code, or HS code, for your product). Manufacturer or supplier information. Container stuffing location. Consolidator. For help with this, contact a service port of entry near you. Ask to speak with a CBP import specialist assigned to the product you are importing. Import specialists can provide you with product specific requirements, advisory duty rates, answer your questions about filing an entry, and can assist you with preparing and filing the required paperwork. You can locate a port of entry and its contact information by visiting the CBP's website. You should be aware of any entry requirements specific to the particular product you are importing, including those of federal agencies besides CBP. For more information about getting your product through U.S. Customs, read Basic Importing and Exporting at CBP's website: http://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export. Once the goods are received by the port of entry, you (or your customs broker) have five days to submit the first round of required import documents. These must be accepted by customs before further documentation can be filed. Required documents include: Bill of lading. Packing lists. Commercial invoice. Certificate of origin. Customs bond. Inward cargo manifest or immediate delivery form. After the first documents are accepted by the port of entry, you or your broker now have ten days to file two additional required documents. These are the entry summary (US Customs Form 7501) and any relevant invoices that can be used to value the shipment.

SUMMARY: Hire a customs broker. Acquire necessary permits and licenses. File the Import Security filing (ISF). Get your product through US Customs and Border Protection ("CBP"). Submit initial import documents. File additional documents.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Once your plants turn yellow or start to die off, your potatoes are ready to harvest. Harvest small new potatoes as soon as the plant turns yellow or dies. For more mature and larger potatoes, wait 1-2 weeks before harvesting. Gently dip into the soil with a small gardening tool or your hands, and pull the entire plant out of the container. Pull off each potato with your hands and brush the soil off of each one. Be careful to not cut or bruise the potatoes at this point, as the skin will be tender and easy to tear. Place your potatoes in a sunny spot and allow them to dry out. Then, scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water to remove the soil and clean them off. Store your potatoes somewhere dark and cool, between 4555F (713C), to avoid deterioration. Keeping potatoes for at least 2 weeks in this state will help them "cure," which hardens the skin and helps them to last longer. Potatoes will last about 5 months in a dark, cool place. If you don't have a root cellar, you can store them in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. The cold temperature of the fridge will convert the starch in potatoes to sugar, so be sure to use them within 1 week.

SUMMARY:
Harvest when the leaves of the plant turn yellow for small new potatoes. Pull the plant from the container and pick off each potato. Let your potatoes dry for 2-3 hours, then rinse them off. Store your harvested potatoes in a cool, dark place for up to 5 months.