Research Guides: FMPD (Fashion Merchandising and Product Development): Int'l Business & Country Info.

Selected International Business & Country Resources

MarketLine Advantage

Company, industry and country information for US and global business. Includes in-depth analyst reports and statistics.

Country Commercial Guides
Market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business customs for over 125 countries prepared by trade and industry experts at U.S. embassies worldwide.
U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets (U.S. Department of State)
These country reports include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations.
Business Source Complete
A strong global focus on company, product & industry information. SEARCH TIP: Use the advanced search form. Enter a term such as clothing trade or textile industry in the first search box & put your country in the second search box. You might also want to limit to recent articles!
OTEXA
Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Find import and export data, trade agreements, industry announcements & more.
Market Intelligence (Export.gov)
Explore industry and market information for various countries. Includes reports with titles such as: Madagascar: Apparel; Exporting Textile and Textile Products to the EU - FAQ; Overview of Technical Textiles in Mexico.
Country Risk & Economic Research
Analyzes the risk and current business climate of doing business in a particular country and also the risk of doing business in a particular industry sector (i.e. clothing).
GlobalEDGE
A site created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University. "Your source for business knowledge."

Finding Tariff Rates

To find a tariff rate, you must first determine the products Harmonized Tariff Schedule Code (HTS) and then use that code to search government databases.

To find the HTS Code use can use:

U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) DataWeb
Use the Commodity Description Lookup under the Classification heading.
U.S. Census Bureau's Schedule B Search Engine
You can either use the Schedule B Search Engine or download a list.

Once you have the code, go to ta official government database to find the specific rate.

Your best bet databases are:

Be aware of the different types of tariffs, which may apply depending on the country of origin.

The below links can help to explain these different tariffs.

Principles of the trading system
A great resource from the World Trade Orginization.
Understanding the MFN Clause: Equal Trading Terms Explained
International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration can help you determine what type of trade agreement exists between countries and the United States.

FMPD (Fashion Merchandising and Product Development)

Sourcing and Manufacturing Resources

Other Helpful Research Guides

Selected International Business & Country Resources

Finding Tariff Rates