Customs Bond
Definition
A guarantee, required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for most commercial imports, that the importer will pay all duties, taxes and fees owed. It comes as a single-entry bond or a continuous annual bond.
Want a deeper explanation?
The bond amount is usually tied to the duties you paid over the past year, so a jump in tariffs can mean your bond is suddenly too small. An insufficient bond can delay clearance.
The annual bond premium is a cost of importing that belongs in your landed-cost thinking. Watch for: bond sufficiency notices from CBP after tariff increases, which need fast action.
Example
An importer bringing in a container every month buys a continuous bond for about a year at a time instead of paying for a single-entry bond on each shipment.