Check the scope for the trade agreement between the origin country and the one where you are based.

Depending on the merchandise you will be importing you may find a dream situation, no import license, no custom fees (or insignificant custom fees), and in some cases even official help & support and sometimes even financing.

or

a nightmare with per freight importing license, high customs fees, Fda permits, etc etc etc

A first step is checking the trade agreement between countries specificly for the merchandise you are bringing a next one is validate what you have read (your interpretation) with your custom broker (the reality) at the endo of the day with or without the need for an import license you ll have to have a custome broker for all the clearing process.