We are a small company in California and will be manufacturing our products in China. Do we need a Import License or something similar??

Just call your customs broker and ask. Customs brokers are a wealth of info.

Or call your local customs office. You could wade through the gov. site but a call is really easier.

No import license needed unless you are importing something that is strictly controlled, e.g. nuclear power generating equipment or something like that. :-)

here in australia there is no such thing as an import license... for some items you need import approval.

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.

take a look also to the packing methods and materials rules since it has changed recently and again, depending on the country of origination the rules change from one to the other.

Example: Most countries but not all of them : Wooden Boxes must be treated and a stamp proove the treatment...

Good point. This is definitely required for the USA/California i.e. you need some certificate to prove anything wood has been fumugated, no bugs, etc. Best to avoid using wood at all, so that means you make sure to ask for paper cartons, not wood crates (if this is OK for your product of course) and plastic pallets, not wood pallets (if you even need pallets).

thomas at innovatize.com