Some freight isn’t being imported — it’s visiting. Trade show booths, film and broadcast equipment, product samples, testing instruments, racing cars, musical instruments. It arrives, does a job, and leaves.
Paying full duty on goods that will be exported within months makes no sense, and there are established mechanisms so you don’t have to. The most common is the ATA Carnet.
What an ATA Carnet is
An ATA Carnet is an international customs document that allows temporary duty-free and tax-free importation of qualifying goods into participating countries. It’s sometimes called a “merchandise passport.”
The core features:
- Valid for up to one year from issue.
- Covers multiple countries and multiple trips on a single document.
- Backed by a guarantee that covers the duties and taxes that would be owed if the goods don’t leave.
- Issued by national guaranteeing associations — in the United States, the US Council for International Business (USCIB) administers the system.
The catch is simple and absolute: the goods must leave in the same condition they arrived. A Carnet covers goods that come and go, not goods that get consumed, sold or given away.
What Carnets cover and don’t
Generally covered:
- Commercial samples
- Professional equipment — cameras, sound gear, tools, medical and testing instruments
- Goods for exhibitions, trade shows and fairs
Generally not covered:
- Consumable or disposable goods
- Giveaways, promotional handouts and brochures intended to be left behind
- Goods intended for sale
- Postal shipments
Mixed shipments are where things go wrong. A trade show container holding both a reusable booth structure and thousands of giveaway items needs the two handled differently — the booth under the Carnet, the giveaways entered normally with duty paid.
Other temporary import routes
A Carnet isn’t the only option.
Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB) is a US customs procedure allowing certain goods to enter without duty payment on a bond, with a commitment to export within a set period. It’s US-specific, where a Carnet works across many countries.
Bonded warehousing or an FTZ suits goods that will be re-exported without ever formally entering US commerce. See drayage to foreign-trade zones in Miami and bonded container drayage.
Your customs broker should advise which fits. The choice has real consequences for how the container is handled on the ground.
What this means for the drayage
This is where temporary imports differ operationally from ordinary freight.
Carnet documentation must be processed at the border
The Carnet has to be presented and endorsed by CBP on both entry and exit. An unendorsed Carnet is functionally a failed Carnet, and the guarantee gets claimed against. Build time for this into the schedule rather than treating it as a formality.
The return leg is part of the job
With normal imports, drayage ends at delivery. With temporary imports, there’s a scheduled export leg — and it has a deadline attached to real financial consequences. Plan and book both legs together. Our guide to export drayage at PortMiami covers cutoffs and ERD timing.
Condition matters more than usual
Goods must be re-exported in the same condition. Damage in handling isn’t just a claim — it can compromise the Carnet itself. Document condition at every handover and use equipment appropriate to the cargo.
Timing is unusually rigid
Trade shows and productions have fixed dates on both ends. There’s no flexibility to absorb a missed appointment or a slow gate. Pre-pulls and staged staging become sensible rather than optional — see what is a pre-pull.
The cargo is often awkward
Booth structures, production equipment and machinery frequently need flat racks, open tops or specialized handling. See OOG and flat rack container drayage and heavy machinery drayage and oversize permits.
Don’t confuse this with trade show drayage
Inside the exhibition industry, “drayage” means moving materials between the loading dock and the booth — an entirely different service, usually controlled by the show’s official contractor. Your port drayage carrier gets the container to the venue; the show contractor handles it from there. We untangle the terminology in trade show drayage vs. port drayage.
Miami-specific considerations
South Florida sees a lot of this traffic: marine and yacht industry events, art fairs, broadcast and film production, and equipment moving to and from Latin America. PortMiami and Port Everglades both handle it routinely, and the region’s CFS and bonded capacity supports the re-export side well.
If your equipment is moving onward to Latin America or the Caribbean rather than returning to origin, confirm the Carnet covers the destination country — participation varies.
A practical checklist
- Decide the mechanism — Carnet, TIB, bonded or FTZ — with your customs broker before shipping.
- Separate temporary-import goods from consumables and giveaways in the packing list.
- Confirm Carnet validity covers the full round trip with margin.
- Book inbound and outbound drayage together, with the export deadline documented.
- Brief the carrier on handling sensitivity and the condition requirement.
- Ensure CBP endorsement is completed on both entry and exit.
- Keep the endorsed documents — they’re your proof the obligation was discharged.
Go Drayage handles flat rack, out-of-gauge and bonded container moves at PortMiami and Port Everglades, including scheduled export legs. Tell us your dates and we’ll plan both directions.
This article is general logistics information, not customs or legal advice. Confirm requirements with your licensed customs broker and the relevant issuing authority.
Frequently asked questions
How long can goods stay in the US on an ATA Carnet?
An ATA Carnet is generally valid for up to one year from issue, though the permitted stay in a particular country can be shorter and is set at entry. Exceeding the period can trigger a claim against the guarantee for the duties and taxes owed, so confirm the specific date endorsed on your document rather than assuming a full year.
Can I sell goods that entered on a Carnet?
No. A Carnet covers goods that will be re-exported in the same condition. If you decide to sell items after arrival, they have to be formally entered and duty paid, which your customs broker handles as a separate process. Selling Carnet goods without doing so puts the guarantee at risk.
Do I need a special drayage carrier for temporary imports?
Not a special licence, but you do need a carrier who understands that the export leg has a hard deadline and that cargo condition is part of the compliance requirement. Ask whether they’ve handled Carnet or TIB moves before and whether they can commit to the outbound dates, not just the inbound pickup.