Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Trinidad and Tobago is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
Trinidad and Tobago Air Freight from China: routing and transit
This is our air freight service from China to Trinidad and Tobago. Departure is from Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Yiwu or Shanghai; entry is through POS (Port of Spain), with clearance handled by Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad is the industrial anchor of the southern Caribbean and a distribution point for the eastern islands. Asian cargo generally transships at Kingston, Caucedo or Cartagena. Foreign-exchange availability has been a recurring constraint for importers, which affects how quickly duty and supplier payments settle.
Route facts
| Destination country | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|
| Region | Americas |
| Mode | Air Freight |
| Gateways used | POS (Port of Spain) |
| Transit, China to gateway | 5–8 business days |
| Clearance / dwell | 4–10 days |
| Peak season | Sep–Nov |
Delivery cities on this lane
Each city below has its own guide covering the gateway that serves it, the inland leg after clearance and the local delivery requirements.
- China to Port of Spain — capital and the main commercial gateway. Via POS air / Port of Spain sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Chaguanas — central retail and distribution town. Via POS air / Point Lisas sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to San Fernando — southern industrial city. Via POS air / Point Lisas sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Arima — eastern regional centre. Via POS air / Port of Spain sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Point Lisas — the industrial estate and second container port. Via POS air / Point Lisas sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
Rates on this lane are per kilogram of chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual gross weight and L×W×H ÷ 6000. One cubic metre of cargo is treated as about 166.7 kg, so anything lighter than that per cubic metre is billed on the space it occupies rather than on the scale reading. Knowing which side of that line your cargo falls on changes the quote more than any negotiation will.
The consignments that move regularly on this service into Trinidad and Tobago are dominated by semiconductor equipment (HS 84), where clearance turns on cE machinery file, plus food-contact or GMP evidence where the line touches product, cnc machines (HS 84) and direct to consumer (HS mixed). We publish a handling brief for each, because the difference between a clean clearance and a two-week hold is almost always documentation prepared before the cargo leaves the factory rather than anything that happens in transit.
We fly this lane into POS (Port of Spain). Clearance happens at the arrival airport rather than at the delivery address, which matters if your consignee is inland: the customs step and the trucking step are separate, and only the first sits inside the transit time quoted above.
Delivery does not stop at the gateway. We run inland to San Fernando, Chaguanas, Point Lisas, Arima and Port of Spain among others, and each of those has its own destination guide covering the port or airport it clears through, the realistic inland transit to add on top of the figures above, and the local clearance quirks worth knowing before you ship: see all Trinidad and Tobago destinations we cover.
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Additional Information
What Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago will ask for
VAT 12.5%; CARICOM common external tariff 0–20%. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo.
Conformity: TTBS conformity for regulated goods; import licence for controlled categories.
Known friction points: Foreign-exchange access can delay settlement. CARICOM tariff treatment differs from the rates applied in Latin American neighbours. Import licences apply to controlled goods.
Documents we file under DDP
- Commercial invoice showing HS codes and the true transaction value
- Packing list with carton count, gross and net weight, and dimensions
- Air waybill
- Certificate of origin where it reduces the duty rate
- Product certification or conformity documents where the commodity requires them
Packing notes
- Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000)
- Use ISPM-15 treated wood for any pallet or crate — untreated timber is a common hold
- Mark every carton with the consignee name, city and carton number of total
- Declare lithium batteries, magnets, liquids and powders before booking, not after
Other modes into Trinidad and Tobago
Duty rates, thresholds and conformity rules change by ministerial decision. The figures here are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your HS code with Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago or your broker before shipping.
Where these numbers come from
Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.
Most landed-cost surprises trace back to classification rather than freight. the WCO Harmonized System defines the heading structure every customs administration builds on, and ITC Market Access Map will show you the duty a given heading attracts in this destination.
On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.
For a wider view of how importing into Trinidad and Tobago actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Trinidad and Tobago customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.
China to Trinidad and Tobago — Shipping Reference Data
| Main air gateways | POS (Port of Spain) |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo |
| Import tax & duty regime | VAT 12.5%; CARICOM common external tariff 0–20% |
| Local currency | TTD |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 4–10 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | TTBS conformity for regulated goods; import license for controlled categories |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Air Route
This page covers a Air freight service from China to Trinidad and Tobago. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Carton Packing Calculator
Before tendering this Air DDP Door-to-Door shipment, check how many units really fit per carton — the 3D packing tool computes layers, rotation, and protective gaps for your exact product dimensions.
Open Packing Tool →Trinidad and Tobago Air Freight Checklist
- Keep single cartons under 30 KG for air handling to Trinidad and Tobago to avoid overweight surcharges.
- Book 2-3 days before your target ETD; same-day air bookings usually carry premium rates.
- Shrink-wrap and corner-protect cartons — air cargo is transloaded multiple times.
- Lithium batteries and liquids need pre-approval on most air routes — declare them upfront.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Air DDP Door-to-Door from China to Trinidad and Tobago take?
Air freight on this route runs about 5–10 business days door-to-door, plus roughly 4–10 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Trinidad and Tobago?
Clearance is handled by Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago. The regime is: VAT 12.5%; CARICOM common external tariff 0–20%, with a de-minimis position of No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
Which ports or airports does this route use into Trinidad and Tobago?
Sea cargo to Trinidad and Tobago clears through Port of Spain, Point Lisas; air freight clears via POS (Port of Spain). We route through whichever gateway gives the fastest onward delivery to your address and build it into the DDP price.
When does capacity tighten on the China–Trinidad and Tobago lane?
Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb) and Golden Week (early Oct). Book 1–2 weeks earlier in these periods.
What does DDP shipping to Trinidad and Tobago include on this route?
DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Customs and Excise Division, Trinidad and Tobago and last-mile delivery in Trinidad and Tobago together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.
How is the shipping cost on this route calculated?
We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000, so one cubic metre counts as about 166.7 kg) and charge whichever is greater, rounded up to the next kilogram, then apply the per-KG rate shown in the table above. A 300 kg consignment measuring out to only 200 kg volumetric is still charged on the 300 kg.
Inland Delivery Coverage — Trinidad and Tobago
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- Port of Spain POS air / Port of Spain sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Chaguanas POS air / Point Lisas sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- San Fernando POS air / Point Lisas sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Arima POS air / Port of Spain sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Point Lisas POS air / Point Lisas sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
Shipping Trinidad and Tobago cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Electrical Cabinets New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Automotive Glass Automotive & Vehicles
- Doors & Windows Building Materials & Construction Products
- Paper Packaging Wood, Bamboo & Paper Products
- Packaging Materials Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Connectors Electronic Components & Semiconductors
- Consumer Electronics Consumer Electronics & Smart Devices
- Air Conditioning Equipment Home Appliances, HVAC & Commercial
- Kitchenware Furniture & Home Products
- Home Textiles Textiles, Apparel, Footwear & Leather
- Medical Device Medical, Laboratory & Precision Instruments
- Personal Protective Equipment Fire, Safety & Traffic Products