| Regime | Territories | What governs landed cost |
|---|---|---|
| CARICOM Common External Tariff | Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica | CET bands 0–20% by HS code, plus national VAT, plus a Customs Service Charge of 3–6% in the OECS states |
| CARICOM member, outside the CET | Bahamas | Own tariff schedule, VAT 10%, processing fee 1% capped at USD 750 |
| Hispaniola / DR-CAFTA area | Dominican Republic | MFN duty by HS code, ITBIS 18%. CAFTA relief is US-origin only |
| Dutch Caribbean | Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten | Own tariffs; BBO 7% at the border in Aruba, OB 6–9% in Curaçao, free-port treatment in Sint Maarten |
| British Overseas Territories | Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands | High import duty, no consumption tax at all |
| United States territories | Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands | Puerto Rico inside the US customs territory; the US Virgin Islands outside it |
A trade agreement your destination has does not help goods made in China.
DR-CAFTA relief in the Dominican Republic applies to US-origin goods. CARICOM duty-free treatment applies to goods of CARICOM origin, certified as such. Neither does anything for a container out of Shenzhen, which pays the standard MFN or Common External Tariff rate by HS code.
Importers budget for a preferential rate they are not entitled to more often than any other error on this lane, and they discover it after the goods have arrived, when there is no leverage left.
The CET applies four broad bands: raw materials at 0–5%, capital goods at 5%, intermediate goods at 10–15%, and finished consumer goods at 15–20%. The exact rate follows the HS code. Goods certified as CARICOM origin enter duty-free between member states, but national consumption taxes still apply.
| Territory | Consumption tax | Notable additional charges |
|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | GCT 15% | Special Consumption Tax on specific categories |
| Trinidad and Tobago | VAT 12.5% | — |
| Barbados | VAT 17.5% | CET derogations on specific items such as spirituous beverages |
| Haiti | TCA 10% | Verification fee 5% of CIF, Special Duty 1% of CIF, Territorial Collectivities contribution 2% of CIF on some food products |
| Antigua and Barbuda | ABST 15% | A WTO trade policy review describes Antigua and Barbuda as levying a Revenue Recovery Charge of 10% on all imports instead of a VAT. Confirm which applies to your goods |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | VAT 17% | Customs Service Charge 3–6% |
| Saint Lucia | VAT 12.5% | Customs Service Charge 3–6% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VAT 16% | Customs Service Charge 3–6% |
| Grenada | VAT 15%, due at the same time as duty | Duties range 0–45%, wider than the CET headline suggests. Customs Service Charge 3–6% |
| Dominica | VAT 15% | Customs Service Charge 3–6% |
The Customs Service Charge in the OECS states deserves particular attention. It is levied on all imports, it is not a duty, and it does not appear in most published tariff comparisons. At 3–6% it is comparable in size to the duty rate on many raw material and capital goods lines.
Haiti's stack is the most under-reported in the region. Duty, plus TCA at 10%, plus a 5% verification fee on CIF, plus a 1% Special Duty on CIF, plus a 2% territorial contribution on some food products. Any guide quoting "10% TCA" as Haiti's import tax cost has understated the position by a wide margin.
The Bahamas is a CARICOM member but does not participate in the Common External Tariff regime. It applies its own tariff schedule, and duty is the principal revenue mechanism rather than a supplement to it.
The capped processing fee is worth noting in the FCL-versus-LCL decision: it stops scaling at USD 75,000 of value, so it penalises small shipments proportionally far more than large ones. Interworld Freight maintains dedicated Bahamas references at Bahamas customs duty rates and Bahamas customs clearance.
The free-trade-zone (zona franca) and bonded systems defer both duty and ITBIS for goods staged rather than released into Dominican commerce, which is the standard structure for importers building regional inventory. See free-trade-zone warehousing in the Dominican Republic.
Panama's headline rate is the lowest of any significant destination in the region, and the Colón Free Zone removes it entirely for goods that never enter Panamanian commerce. Details in Colón Free Zone re-export.
| Territory | Consumption tax at import | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aruba | BBO at the border 7% | In force since 1 August 2023: 2.5% BBO, 1.5% BAVP, 3% BAZV. Before that date turnover tax was not levied at import, and most published guides still say so |
| Curaçao | OB 6% standard, 9% on certain categories | Levied on the CIF value, so freight and insurance are inside the base. A revision has been under advisement since 2023 |
| Sint Maarten | None in the conventional sense | Free-port trading position; Customs Sint Maarten operates primarily as a law enforcement agency rather than a duty-collecting one. Turnover tax applies to domestic sales |
The Aruba change is the single most commonly wrong fact in circulating Caribbean shipping guides. Anything published before mid-2023 and not revised since states that Aruba does not tax imports. It does, at 7%, and has since August 2023.
These three have no VAT, no consumption tax and no income tax. Import duty is the revenue mechanism, and the rates reflect that.
| Territory | Import duty | Consumption tax |
|---|---|---|
| Cayman Islands | Generally 22–27% on most goods | None |
| Turks and Caicos | ~30% on most items; most food 10–15%; some specialty categories ~40% | None |
| British Virgin Islands | Varying by commodity; confirm the band for your HS code with a broker before pricing | None |
Zero VAT does not mean cheap. A shipment landing in George Town at 22% duty and no tax frequently costs more than the same shipment landing in a CARICOM island at 5% duty and 15% VAT. Compare duty plus consumption tax on the CIF value for your specific HS code, not headline rates.
The two US territories in the region sit on opposite sides of the US customs boundary, and the difference is total.
Puerto Rico is inside the United States customs territory. A Chinese-origin container landing in San Juan is a US import in every respect:
The US Virgin Islands are outside it. They run a separate tariff with an excise tax of 4% on most goods, higher on specific products such as cigarettes, and with many tourist categories, jewelry, watches, crystal, artwork, electronics and leather goods, exempt entirely.
Quoting Puerto Rico like an island lane, or the US Virgin Islands like a US one, is a category error that shows up as a materially wrong landed cost.
Three steps, in order:
Cost anatomy in full is in China to Caribbean shipping cost; the routing structure that determines your freight component is in Caribbean transshipment hubs; and the whole lane is in shipping from China to the Caribbean. Per-destination clearance procedure, importer registration and entry documents are in the individual guides, including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.
They range from 0% to roughly 45% depending on territory and HS code. CARICOM states apply the Common External Tariff in four bands: raw materials 0–5%, capital goods 5%, intermediate goods 10–15%, finished consumer goods 15–20%. The British Overseas Territories apply much higher general rates, around 22–27% in the Cayman Islands and roughly 30% in the Turks and Caicos, because they have no consumption tax and duty is the revenue mechanism.
No. DR-CAFTA relief in the Dominican Republic covers US-origin goods, and CARICOM duty-free treatment covers goods certified as CARICOM origin. Neither applies to Chinese-origin cargo, which pays the standard MFN or Common External Tariff rate. The only way to defer duty on Chinese goods in the region is free-zone or bonded staging, which postpones the payment rather than removing it.
Panama has the lowest headline consumption tax at 7% ITBMS, and goods held in the Colón Free Zone pay neither duty nor ITBMS while they remain there. Among the islands there is no single answer, because territories with no VAT apply high duty instead. Compare duty plus consumption tax on the CIF value for your specific HS code.
In most territories, yes, and it is calculated on the CIF value plus duty rather than on the invoice value alone. Rates in force include 18% in the Dominican Republic, 17.5% in Barbados, 17% in Saint Kitts and Nevis, 16% in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 15% in Jamaica, Grenada and Dominica, 12.5% in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia, and 10% in the Bahamas. The Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos and British Virgin Islands charge none.
Yes. Aruba introduced BBO at the border on 1 August 2023 at a combined rate of 7%, made up of 2.5% BBO, 1.5% BAVP and 3% BAZV. Before that date turnover tax was not levied at import, which is why a large number of published shipping guides still state incorrectly that Aruba does not tax imports.
A charge of 3% to 6% levied on all imports in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is separate from duty and from VAT, and it is omitted from most published tariff comparisons even though on many product lines it is comparable in size to the duty itself.
No. Puerto Rico is inside the United States customs territory, so a Chinese-origin shipment landing in San Juan clears through US Customs and Border Protection at US tariff rates, including any China-specific measures, and requires a US importer of record. The local IVU of 11.5% is administered separately by the Puerto Rican treasury. The US Virgin Islands, by contrast, sit outside the US customs territory and apply their own tariff with a 4% excise tax.