Last updated: 3 August 2026.
A part leaves the workshop packed, invoiced and declared. Between that moment and the one where you fit it to your machine, there is a US customs entry, a carrier, and one more line on your bill. This page tells you exactly which line, and why.
It is dated, and that is not a stylistic precaution. The US customs framework has changed three times since February. If you are reading this long after the date above, write to us rather than take our word for it.
What you pay today
Since 24 July 2026, goods of European origin enter the United States under a Section 301 measure covering sixty economies, the European Union among them.
The mechanism deserves a sentence, because it is almost always explained badly: it is a ceiling, not a surcharge. For a European good whose base US rate is below 10 percent, the total rate is brought up to 10 percent — the base rate is absorbed, not added to. For a good already at or above 10 percent, nothing is added.
Motorcycle parts and accessories fall under heading 8714.10, whose base US rate is free. So the arithmetic is as simple as it gets:
A $400 order arrives with $40 in duties.
Two things sit on top of that, and they are not the same thing:
- About $4 in federal fees on a parcel this size — a flat processing fee and an express-consignment fee. They are public, fixed, and adjusted every 1 October.
- Your carrier’s own charges. The carrier clears the parcel, advances the duties on your behalf and bills you back. That one belongs to them: it is a service, not a tax, and the amount appears on their notice.
One threshold is gone, and it is worth knowing: the $800 exemption no longer applies to purchases. It was suspended in late August 2025, then suspended indefinitely by two federal rules of 24 June 2026, across every mode of transport. Nothing enters duty-free any more, however small. A pair of mirrors is declared like a full kit.
What the border takes off
Your order ships without French VAT. The 20 percent a French customer pays is not charged to you — the price shown on the site for a US address is already net of European tax.
Do the arithmetic in order. You pay the pre-tax price, then 10 percent at the border. A French rider pays the same pre-tax price, then 20 percent. The gap stays in your favour.
The border adds a step. It does not add a penalty.
What the workshop prepares before the parcel leaves
This is the part you normally never hear about, and it is the part that decides everything.
- Classification. Every part ships under its real code, not under a generic code set once and left alone. A leather seat is not a metal part, and it is not declared as one.
- Composition. US duties on steel and aluminium remain very high, and they sit outside the ceiling described above. A part whose main material is leather or textile, but whose description mentions metal, can be reclassified by US customs onto its most heavily taxed component. Our descriptions are written so that confusion does not arise.
- Invoice and origin. Detailed commercial invoice, declared French origin, company EORI number. Nothing exotic — simply done on every shipment.
If your parcel is nonetheless charged beyond what is described here, reply to us with the carrier’s notice. We assemble the documentation file — invoice, material composition statement, workshop support letter — within 48 hours. The decision belongs to customs, not to us: we supply the evidence, we do not guarantee the outcome. Appeal windows are short; do not wait.
Who collects, and when
The carrier. It clears the parcel, advances the duties, then asks you for them — on delivery, or shortly before.
One detail explains all the rest: on these shipments, you are the importer. Your name is on the customs entry, which is why the duty bill reaches you rather than us. There is no option today to settle those duties in advance at checkout. We are working on it; we will not announce it before it exists.
In practice: keep an eye on the carrier’s messages. A parcel whose duties go unpaid sits in bond, then goes back. An ignored notice costs more than the duties themselves.
How long it takes
Two durations follow one another, and they are better looked at separately.
The workshop’s time. A part held in stock ships within 3 to 15 working days. A part made to order takes longer — up to 90 working days — and in that case the lead time is given to you when your order is confirmed, not discovered along the way. We would rather quote a duration that holds than one that pleases: a seat cut for your machine cannot be caught up by rushing.
The transport time. It adds to the first, and depends on the service chosen at checkout. Your carrier provides its estimate and tracking as soon as the parcel leaves.
One consequence worth knowing, because it is not intuitive: a made-to-order part carries no right of withdrawal. It was made for you; it does not go back on a shelf. This is set out in article 8 of our terms of sale, and it is why we check your model, year and configuration before anything is built.
And on the road?
A point of method, because it is misunderstood on both sides of the Atlantic.
The United States does not operate type approval. There is no American equivalent of the E mark: the system rests on the manufacturer self-certifying to federal standards, with “DOT” marking on the equipment subject to them. A European approval therefore carries no legal effect there — it does not amount to compliance, and its absence forbids nothing in itself.
What matters is what the part is. Lighting, brake hoses, mirrors and glazing fall under specific federal standards. Seats, handlebars, tanks and bodywork do not. For exhausts, federal noise rules and anti-tampering provisions apply as well — and if you ride in California, a framework of its own.
So we never transpose a European status onto the US market. Where a part carries an approval, we say which one, for which market, under which reference. Where it carries none, we say that too. Technical files are freely downloadable on the relevant product pages: they are written to be read by your workshop, your inspector, or your insurer.
Frequently asked
Do I pay French VAT?
No. Orders shipped to the United States leave without VAT, and the price displayed for a US address already reflects that.
Can I pay the duties when I order?
Not today. They are collected by the carrier on arrival, from you, as the importer.
My parcel is under $800 — am I exempt?
No. That threshold no longer applies to purchases, whatever the amount or the carrier.
Is the $40 in your example the whole bill?
That is the duty. Add roughly $4 in federal fees, and your carrier’s own handling charge.
I was overcharged on an order from 2025 or early 2026. Can I recover anything?
Possibly. Several routes exist depending on how the overcharge arose, and all of them run through you — you are the importer. Write to us with the customs notice and we will prepare the supporting file. We can neither file on your behalf nor promise an outcome.
Can I return a part?
A catalogue part, yes, under article 8: refunded to your original payment method within 14 days, with no handling fee. A made-to-order part, no — it was built for your machine. Duties already paid are a matter for US customs: ask us for the file, the claim is yours to make.
Do clothing items follow the same rule?
No. They fall under different tariff chapters, with their own rates and their own compliance obligations. Ask us before ordering if this matters to you.
What if the framework changes again?
This page will be updated, and the date at the top will say so. If in doubt, write to contact@baakmotocyclettes.com.
Built to be remembered.