Italy
USA trade laneThe Sassuolo district, in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, is one of the world's two great ceramic tile clusters, and its porcelain — large-format slabs, thin panels, wood and stone looks — sells at the top of the US flooring and design market. In the Apuan Alps above Carrara, quarries produce Statuario, Calacatta and Carrara white marble, and Italian processors cut and finish stone from around the world. For a US distributor the duty story is simple: Italian ceramic tile is not under the antidumping and countervailing duty orders that apply to Chinese tile, and natural marble carries none either.
We work through WCA partner agents in Italy; AGF has no office there. Our partner collects from the factories or the stone yard, checks pallets, A-frames and gross weights, and loads at La Spezia, Genoa, Livorno or Marina di Carrara. AGF runs the US end from Glendale: the entry filed by our licensed customs brokers, heavy-container trucking and unloading at your yard or job site.
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Shipping Porcelain Tile & Marble from Italy to USA
Tile and stone are weight cargo. A 20ft container reaches the practical road-legal payload for most US deliveries — roughly 19-20 tonnes — long before it is full, so 20ft boxes are the norm. Tile ships palletized and strapped; large-format porcelain slabs and marble slabs travel upright on braced A-frames; raw marble blocks for US processors go in open tops or breakbulk. Sassuolo tile reaches La Spezia by truck or rail, and Carrara stone ships through Marina di Carrara, La Spezia or Livorno.
From La Spezia or Genoa, New York is 9-22 days depending on whether the service calls direct, Savannah about 21-25 days and Los Angeles about 35 days through the Panama Canal. Breakage is the cost that matters: ISPM-15 timber, edge protection and tight lashing, with the gross weight verified before the container is accepted at the terminal.
- 20ft loaded to the weight limit — roughly 19-20 tonnes for US road delivery
- Large-format porcelain and marble slabs on braced A-frames
- Sassuolo tile to La Spezia; Carrara stone via Marina di Carrara, La Spezia or Livorno
- ISPM-15 timber, edge protection and verified gross weights
What Drives the Cost
- Weight, not volume — every container is planned to its payload
- Format: standard tile, large-format slabs, marble slabs or raw blocks
- Packing standard and breakage allowance
- Duty: EU goods at 10% all-in under the Section 301 measure, with no AD/CVD layer on Italian tile or marble — confirmed at quoting
- Consolidation across several Sassuolo factories
- US heavy-container trucking and unloading — forklift, slab clamp or crane
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 6907 | Ceramic and porcelain tile, including large-format slabs and thin panels | No AD/CVD order on Italian tile. The base rate varies with the tile's water absorption and size, topped up to 10% all-in under the Section 301 measure on EU goods. |
| 6802.91 | Worked marble, travertine and alabaster — slabs, cut-to-size, vanity tops | No AD/CVD; EU 10% all-in. An accurate description of the stone matters at entry. |
| 2515 | Marble and travertine blocks, crude or roughly trimmed | Blocks for US processors; low base rate plus the EU layer. Ship in open tops or breakbulk by weight and dimensions. |
| 6802.92 / 6802.99 | Other worked stone — limestone and other calcareous stone, and other stone finished in Italy | Natural-stone lines with no AD/CVD; the country of origin declared must be supportable from the supplier's documents. |
Regulations and Compliance
No AD/CVD — but origin must be real
Italian ceramic tile and natural marble are not under US antidumping or countervailing duty orders, which is why many distributors buy from Sassuolo. The advantage holds only for tile actually made in Italy: CBP pursues Chinese tile routed through third countries, so the supplier's certificate of origin and production documents should support the Italian origin on every entry.
The EU tariff layer
Since 24 July 2026, Italian tile and stone pay their normal duty topped up to 10% in total under a Section 301 measure on EU goods; lines whose normal duty is already 10% or more pay nothing extra. We confirm the total for each line at quoting.
Weight and verified gross mass
Every export container needs a verified gross mass before it is loaded, and US road limits cap what a 20ft can carry to most destinations at roughly 19-20 tonnes of cargo. An overweight container is stranded at the port, so weights are checked at loading, not guessed from the order.
Wood packaging (ISPM-15)
A-frames, crates and pallets must be heat-treated or fumigated and stamped to ISPM-15. Non-compliant timber is refused or re-exported at the importer's cost.
Silica and Proposition 65
Cutting and polishing stone and tile releases crystalline silica. OSHA's silica standard applies to fabrication shops, and California has added rules for fabricators. These bind the shop rather than the import, but buyers increasingly ask for silica documentation, and products sold in California commonly need Proposition 65 evaluation.
Door-to-Door Import Service
We start with the order: formats, thicknesses and weights per pallet or slab, which sets how many containers you need. Our partner agent in Italy collects from the Sassuolo factories or the Carrara yard, consolidates where that saves money, checks A-frames and bracing and verifies gross weights before loading, with the ISF filed before loading.
On arrival our licensed customs brokers file the entry, and our trucking partners deliver on chassis suited to heavy containers, with unloading planned — forklift, slab clamp or crane — at your warehouse, fabrication shop or job site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a tariff on porcelain tile from Italy?
How much tile fits in a 20ft container from Italy?
How is Carrara marble shipped to the USA?
Can you consolidate tile from several Sassuolo factories?
Porcelain Tile & Marble 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.
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Transit, duty exposure and container loads side by side in our stone & tile import guide.
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