China
USA trade laneDoors and windows from Chinese manufacturers offer strong pricing for builders, developers, and renovation suppliers — modern PVC and aluminum window systems and engineered-wood doors at a fraction of domestic cost. The catch is that this cargo combines three difficulties: it is fragile (glass), heavy (framed units), and project-critical (a construction schedule waits on it).
Successful door and window importing is mostly about packaging discipline at origin and precise coordination at destination. AGF's China team inspects crating before loading, and our US side times customs clearance and delivery to your build schedule.
How Doors & Windows Ships from China to USA
Glazed windows and glass doors must ship in braced wooden crates or A-frames, vertical, with foam separation — never loose cartons. Solid and engineered doors ship palletized and banded. A 40ft container typically carries 200–400 interior door slabs, or 20–40 crated window units depending on size.
Weight adds up faster than with furniture: aluminum systems and glazed units can approach container weight limits before filling the space, so the loading plan matters — sometimes a 20ft or a mixed load beats a half-empty 40ft.
- Crated, vertical, braced — the packaging standard for anything glazed
- Confirm glass specs (tempered/laminated) meet US building-code requirements before production
- Hardware, seals, and screens packed and labeled per opening
- Project deliveries scheduled with your GC — doors arriving before framing is ready just get damaged on site
What Drives the Cost
- Material — wood, PVC/vinyl, and aluminum classify and price differently
- Glazing — glass adds weight, crating cost, and damage risk
- Crate quality at origin (cheap crating is expensive cargo insurance in reverse)
- Section 301 tariff status by material and HS line; aluminum products may also face Section 232-related measures
- Project-site delivery vs warehouse consolidation
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Our licensed customs brokers verify every code before you commit to an order.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4418.20 / 4418.10 | Wooden doors and their frames / wooden windows | Base duties low; TSCA and Lacey apply to engineered wood cores. |
| 3925.20 | PVC/plastic doors, windows and frames | Modest base duty; Section 301 lists have covered many plastic building products from China. |
| 7610.10 | Aluminum doors, windows and frames | Aluminum extrusions from China have AD/CVD history — scope-check aluminum window systems before ordering. |
Regulations and Compliance
Building codes and certifications
US projects typically require NFRC ratings for windows and appropriate safety glazing. These are market requirements rather than customs ones — but importing product that cannot be installed is the most expensive mistake in this category.
TSCA Title VI and Lacey Act
Engineered-wood doors with MDF or plywood cores need EPA formaldehyde compliance; wood species declarations may apply.
AD/CVD on aluminum extrusions
Aluminum framing from China intersects with long-standing trade orders on aluminum extrusions. Whether a finished window assembly is in scope requires specific review.
Door-to-Door Import Service
We collect from factories across Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shandong, supervise crating, and ship to the port closest to your project. Customs entry, duty payment, and final-mile flatbed or liftgate delivery are all on one invoice.
For phased construction projects, cargo can wait in our Southern California warehouse and deliver per construction phase — you clear customs once and draw down as the site is ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can windows really survive ocean shipping from China?
Do imported doors and windows meet US building codes?
How are duties calculated on doors and windows from China?
Doors & Windows is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.