How to Ship Internationally from the US: Small-Business Guide

Shipping internationally from the US comes down to six steps: pick a service for the destination, gather customs information (item description, value, and HS code), choose who pays duties (DDU or DDP), buy the label with its customs form (CN22 or commercial invoice) generated together, attach everything, and track the shipment to the door. You don’t need accounts with a dozen carriers to do this well — one platform can cover most lanes, which is how GoatLabels approaches it with a network spanning DHL, USPS, UPS, FedEx, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Aramex, Asendia, ePost Global, Passport, and TNT.

Here’s each step in detail.

Which carrier should you use for which region?

International lanes reward using the network that’s strongest at the destination, not just the one that picked up the box:

Destination / need	Networks worth quoting	Notes
Worldwide express	DHL, FedEx, UPS	Fast, fully tracked, door-to-door
Economy worldwide	USPS, Asendia, ePost Global, Passport	Postal and consolidator networks; slower, cheaper
United Kingdom	Royal Mail (final mile), DHL	Royal Mail handles domestic UK delivery
Canada	Canada Post (final mile), UPS, DHL	Canada Post reaches every Canadian address
Middle East	Aramex, DHL	Aramex has deep regional coverage
Europe broadly	DHL, Asendia, TNT	Mix express and economy by order value

The practical move: quote several networks per order and let price and transit time decide. On GoatLabels, international quotes come from this multi-carrier network in one screen, the same way domestic rate-shopping works — see how package pricing works generally for the cost drivers that still apply.

What customs paperwork do you actually need?

Every international package needs a customs declaration. For small businesses this means:

• Item description — specific and honest (“men’s cotton t-shirt”, not “clothes” or “gift”).
• Declared value — the price the buyer paid. Under-declaring is customs fraud and voids insurance.
• HS code — the Harmonized System code that classifies your product for tariff purposes. Six digits are internationally standardized; destination countries may extend them. Look up your product category once and reuse it.
• Country of origin — where the item was manufactured, not where you shipped it from.
• CN22 or commercial invoice — low-value postal shipments typically use the compact CN22 form; courier shipments (DHL, FedEx, UPS) use a commercial invoice. Your label platform should generate the right document with the label so you’re never filling out forms by hand.

Modern platforms transmit this data electronically to customs before the package arrives, which is now expected on most lanes — incomplete electronic customs data is a common reason parcels get returned.

DDU or DDP: who pays the import duties?

This is the decision that most affects your customer’s experience:

• DDU/DAP (Delivered Duty Unpaid): the buyer pays duties and taxes on delivery. Cheaper label for you, but the customer gets a surprise bill — a leading cause of refused packages and one-star reviews.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): duties and taxes are collected at checkout and prepaid, so the customer pays nothing at the door.

For small businesses selling to consumers, DDP is usually worth it on lanes where it’s available: fewer refusals, fewer support tickets. GoatLabels supports shipping internationally with duties and taxes paid upfront, so your customer isn’t ambushed by the courier.

What can’t you ship internationally?

Restricted and prohibited lists vary by destination and carrier, but categories that consistently cause trouble include:

• Lithium batteries shipped loose (rules differ for batteries installed in devices)
• Perfumes, aerosols, and flammables
• Food, plants, and seeds (heavily destination-dependent)
• Currency and precious metals
• Anything counterfeit or restricted by the destination country

Check the destination country’s restrictions before listing international shipping on a product. When in doubt, the carrier’s prohibited-items list for that lane is the authority — guessing costs you a returned (or destroyed) parcel.

What does the shipment actually cost, all-in?

International “landed cost” is more than the label:

1. Freight — the label price itself.
2. Duties — tariff on the goods, driven by the HS code and value.
3. Taxes — destination VAT/GST, often charged even on low-value goods.
4. Brokerage/processing fees — some carriers charge for customs clearance handling.

If you ship DDU, your customer pays items 2–4 and you only see item 1 — until refusals teach you the rest exists. If you ship DDP, you see the true landed cost at label time and can price shipping honestly. Either way, quote with all-in pricing so the freight portion has no surprises of its own.

How does tracking work across borders?

Express couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) track door-to-door in one system. Postal and consolidator lanes hand off — USPS to the destination post, Asendia/ePost Global/Passport into local networks like Royal Mail or Canada Post — so tracking can pause around the handoff and customs clearance. That pause is normal. A platform dashboard that unifies tracking across carriers saves you from checking four websites, and gives you one place to answer “where’s my order?” messages. GoatLabels syncs tracking back to your dashboard automatically; the Help Center covers lane-specific details.

How do you set customer expectations for international orders?

Most international shipping “problems” are actually expectation problems. A few policies prevent nearly all of them:

• Publish transit ranges, not dates. Customs clearance time varies; promise a window (e.g., “express: about a week; economy: several weeks depending on destination”) and let tracking tell the precise story.
• State your duties policy on the product page. If you ship DDP, say “duties and taxes included — nothing to pay on delivery.” If you ship DDU, warn buyers they may owe import charges. Silence here is what generates angry emails.
• Send the tracking link proactively. International tracking has quiet stretches around handoffs and customs; a customer watching the link is far calmer than one emailing “where is it?”
• Decide your lost-package policy in advance. Economy postal lanes have longer windows before a package is considered lost. Know when you’ll reship or refund before the first incident, not during it.

Ten minutes writing these policies once saves hours of support later — and makes international orders feel as routine as domestic ones.

FAQ

What’s the cheapest way to ship internationally from the US?

Economy postal and consolidator services (USPS international, Asendia, ePost Global, Passport) are typically cheapest; express couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) cost more but are faster and fully tracked. Quote both tiers per order — the gap varies a lot by destination and weight.

Do I need an HS code for every package?

You need a product classification on the customs declaration, and an HS code is the standard way to provide it. Look up the six-digit code for each product type once; your platform reuses it on every label.

What happens if my customer refuses to pay duties?

The package is typically returned (often at your cost) or abandoned. This is the main argument for DDP — collecting duties at checkout so there’s nothing to refuse at the door.

Can I fill out customs forms by hand?

Postal counters still accept handwritten forms, but electronic customs data is expected on most lanes now, and platforms generate the CN22 or commercial invoice automatically with the label. There’s no reason to hand-write forms in 2026.

Do I need separate accounts with DHL, Royal Mail, Canada Post, etc.?

No. A multi-carrier platform gives you access to all of these networks under one account, one wallet, and one tracking dashboard. On GoatLabels that’s one free signup with pay-per-label pricing and no monthly minimum.

Ship your first international order this week

International shipping stops being intimidating the moment the paperwork is generated for you. Create a free GoatLabels account, enter the order, pick a lane from DHL, USPS, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Aramex, Asendia, ePost Global, Passport, or TNT, and print the label with customs docs included — duties prepaid where you want them. Pay per label, no monthly minimum. Sign up free at goatlabels.io/signup.