There is no direct sailing from China. Cargo leaves a Chinese port on a mainline transpacific vessel, relays at a hub, and arrives on a feeder into St. John's.
The relay points are Kingston and Caucedo, both on the Windward Passage close to the mainline Asia-to-US-East-Coast route. Antigua sits toward the eastern end of the arc, so the feeder leg is longer than for the central Caribbean and the transit range wider. The structure is in Caribbean transshipment hubs.
Plan for 36 to 50 days end to end on a consolidated shipment and 32 to 45 days on a full container.
Regional comparisons are in China to Caribbean transit times.
| Component | Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight | Per CBM (LCL) or per container (FCL) | Eastern-arc feeder, longer final leg |
| Origin and destination CFS | Per shipment or per CBM | LCL only |
| Terminal handling, both ends | Flat | — |
| Customs brokerage | Per entry | — |
| Import duty | CARICOM CET, 0–20% by HS code | Chinese origin pays full CET |
| Consumption tax | ABST 15% per most sources; a WTO review instead describes a 10% revenue recovery charge on all imports | Resolve locally before pricing |
The CET bands are worth knowing before classification: raw materials 0–5%, capital goods 5%, intermediate goods 10–15%, finished consumer goods 15–20%. Most Chinese-sourced imports here are finished consumer goods, so plan on the top band.
The tax ambiguity above is the one to resolve first. On a USD 100,000 CIF consignment the difference between a 15% tax and a 10% charge is USD 5,000, which is more than the entire ocean freight on most shipments. The regional table, which carries the same caveat, is in Caribbean import duties and taxes, and the cost stack in China to Caribbean shipping cost.
St. John's has a deep-water harbour and reasonable handling capacity for its size, but the container freight station market is small and the feeder leg is long.
Interworld Freight runs the consolidated option from origin CFS in China through local clearance: LCL shipping from China to Antigua and Barbuda. For full containers, container shipping to the Caribbean. The mode analysis is in LCL vs FCL for Caribbean imports.
St. John's is the principal cargo gateway, with a deep-water harbour that also handles substantial cruise traffic. All containerised imports route through here.
English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour on the south coast serve the yachting sector rather than commercial cargo, but they matter commercially because the marine trade generates its own import demand for chandlery, engines and fit-out materials.
Barbuda is served onward from Antigua as a separate leg.
Imports are administered by the Customs and Excise Division.
CARICOM duty-free treatment applies to goods certified as being of CARICOM origin. It does nothing for a container from China, which pays the full CET rate for its classification.
The mix reflects tourism, an active construction sector supported by citizenship-by-investment development, and a resident population: construction and finishing materials, hospitality furniture, fixtures and equipment, consumer electronics and appliances, furniture and home goods, marine and chandlery supplies, and general retail.
Construction materials are the volume category and the one where classification pays off, because materials span several CET bands and the difference between the capital-goods band at 5% and the consumer-goods band at 15–20% is large enough to change project economics.
Interworld Freight is a global freight forwarder headquartered in Miami, running transpacific consolidation from China alongside its transatlantic, Middle East and Oceania trades. The wider lane is in shipping from China to the Caribbean, and the neighbouring OECS market with the region's highest VAT in shipping from China to Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Plan for 36 to 50 days end to end on a consolidated shipment and 32 to 45 days on a full container. Cargo relays through Kingston or Caucedo and arrives at St. John's on a feeder. Antigua sits toward the eastern end of the arc, so the feeder leg runs 3 to 7 days, longer than for the central Caribbean.
Duty under the CARICOM Common External Tariff by HS code, plus a consumption charge whose form published sources disagree on. Most references describe the Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax at 15%, while a WTO trade policy review of the OECS describes the territory as not applying a VAT and instead levying a 10% revenue recovery charge on all imports. Confirm which applies to your goods with a local broker before pricing, because the difference is larger than the freight on most shipments.
No. CARICOM duty-free entry applies to goods certified as being of CARICOM origin. Goods manufactured in China pay the full Common External Tariff rate for their classification, plus the applicable consumption charge.
St. John's, which has a deep-water harbour handling both containerised cargo and substantial cruise traffic. English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour on the south coast serve the yachting sector rather than commercial cargo. Barbuda is served onward from Antigua as a separate leg.
Local importer registration and a licensed broker to file the entry through the ASYCUDA system with the Customs and Excise Division. Duty is assessed under the CARICOM Common External Tariff, and the applicable consumption charge should be confirmed for your classification before the goods ship.
Consolidated shipping wins below roughly 10 to 14 CBM. Between 14 and 20 CBM, price both. Above roughly 20 CBM a container usually wins. The breakeven sits slightly earlier than the regional generic because the container freight station market at St. John's is small and the feeder leg is long, which raises both handling cost and handling exposure.