Importing from China to Haiti: customs duties and documents in 2026

Haiti's total imports reached 4.5 billion dollars in fiscal year 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, with American goods accounting for over 32% of the total. Another reading, based on 2022 data, puts the United States at 30.8% of imports, the Dominican Republic at 26.1%, and China at 16%, making it the third-largest supplier. The main import categories remain food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, and raw materials.

Southern China mainly supplies consumer electronics, small home appliances, construction materials, and energy-related equipment such as generators and solar equipment, sought after by households facing an unreliable power grid. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports significant instability and civil unrest in Haiti: a factor when choosing a freight forwarder, not a barrier to importing.

Haiti has maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan since April 25, 1956, and does not recognize the People's Republic of China, with each country keeping a trade office in the other's capital, Haiti in Beijing and China in Port-au-Prince. This does not block trade, but it does deprive the Haitian importer of any bilateral instrument, free trade agreement, or mutual recognition of inspections.

Haiti has been a member of the World Trade Organization since January 30, 1996, and therefore applies its general most-favored-nation tariff regime to Chinese goods, with no preferential certificate of origin for this origin. Haiti is also a member of CARICOM, but no source consulted confirms that CARICOM's common external tariff applies to Haitian imports from China: the national tariff verified with the Administration Générale des Douanes, the AGD, is what governs.

According to the WTO's World Tariff Profiles 2026, based on 2024 data, Haiti's average applied tariff, excluding preferences, is 4.9% across all products, 9.7% for agricultural goods and 4.2% for non-agricultural goods, with 87.6% of tariff lines bound. By category: 6.1% for textiles, capped at 20%, 5.9% for clothing, capped at 15%, 4.8% for wood, paper and furniture, capped at 20%, 2.9% for electrical machinery and equipment, capped at 20%, and 3.1% for mechanical machinery and computing equipment, capped at 10%.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, these are joined by a 10% VAT on both local sales and imports, verification fees of 5% of the CIF value (cost, insurance and freight), and a 2% CFGDCT contribution on most imports, excluding petroleum products, pharmaceuticals and certain foodstuffs. Higher specific duties apply to certain lines: flour, pasta and tomato-based products at 50%, fruit juice at 30%, cigarettes at 50%, rice at 3%, vehicles with a registration tax of 5 to 20%, and a 10% environmental tax on used vehicles.

Example on a shipment of electronics with a CIF value of 10,000 dollars, at its category's average duty of 2.9%: customs duty of 290 dollars, verification fee at 5% of CIF, or 500 dollars, CFGDCT at 2% of CIF, or 200 dollars, VAT at 10%, indicatively applied to the CIF value plus duty, or 1,029 dollars. Total before ancillary fees: roughly 2,019 dollars, with the exact base to be confirmed line by line with the AGD before finalizing the proforma invoice.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the importer must obtain a Déclaration Préalable à l'Importation, the DPI, and the original of an Attestation de Vérification, the AV, before the shipment even leaves for Haiti: these two documents are required for loading, not just for customs clearance on arrival. The import notice is then filed in digital form on the AGD's automated customs system.

For certain categories, food, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, approval from the relevant ministries, Health, Public Works or Agriculture, is required in addition to the DPI and the AV, along with the usual commercial documents: invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill. No general import license has been identified for goods in general: this should be confirmed with the AGD for any sensitive product before placing an order.

The requirement for a Verification Certificate before loading functions as a pre-shipment inspection. The pre-inspection agreement with SGS was terminated in March 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, and our sources do not identify which body currently issues the AV or what it costs: this should be checked with the AGD before starting production.

Firearms, ammunition, explosives and pyrotechnic items are restricted, with a special authorization covering hunting or sport use. Personal effects have been barred from entry through any port other than Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien since April 5, 2021. No national standards body specific to Haiti has been identified: compliance for a sensitive product should be worked out in advance with the AGD and the relevant ministry.

Haiti has four international ports, Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Lafito and Saint-Marc, and two international airports, in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Goods coming from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian arrive there via transshipment, as no direct line from southern China has been confirmed: the actual transit time should be negotiated with the freight forwarder at booking rather than read off a general table.

Free on Board suits cases where the Haitian buyer arranges transport from a Chinese port; Cost, Insurance and Freight suits cases where an intermediary handles it through to Port-au-Prince or Cap-Haïtien. Delivered Duty Paid remains inadvisable as long as the Chinese supplier is not a registered customs declarant in Haiti, which is never the case.

The gourde, HTG, is Haiti's official currency, but payment to a Chinese supplier is, in practice, made in U.S. dollars. Standard practice is a deposit on order followed by a balance before shipment, paid into the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account; any change of bank details received by email should be verified with a direct phone call before any transfer.

A first order follows a set sequence: a written specification sheet, verification of the factory, approval of a sample, a proforma invoice with the chosen Incoterm, production tracking against dated milestones, a pre-shipment inspection, filing the DPI and obtaining the AV before loading, freight to Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Lafito or Saint-Marc, and finally customs clearance by the client or their local agent on arrival.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary, 广州索尔瓦商务咨询有限公司, whose corporate purpose covers the purchase, resale and export of goods, and by a parent company in France. With no dedicated trade agreement between Haiti and China, the lever is not tariff-based but operational: Sorva's Chinese-speaking team finds and vets factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates, has quality checked before loading, prepares the documents, and arranges freight to the chosen Haitian port, planning the DPI and AV together with the client ahead of time.

Sorva's base offer is billed in dollars, a currency already familiar to a Haitian buyer, supplemented by options specific to other regions, quoted on request. Sorva never acts as the official importer of record in Haiti, does not file the DPI or AV itself, does not clear goods through customs locally, and does not export vehicles itself without a licensed Chinese exporter. Contact: WhatsApp +33 6 15 55 62 52, [email protected].