AUFTA

AUFTA is the trade agreement between the United States and Australia. Goods actually made in one of the two countries can enter the other largely duty-free — most tariffs were removed in 2005, the rest phased out by 2022. That discount isn't automatic: someone has to confirm the product qualifies and claim it at entry. No claim means the normal duty rate applies, even on goods that would have qualified.

How to determine if you can claim it 

1. Classify the good. Get its 10-digit HTS number right — the origin analysis depends entirely on this.
2. Check whether it actually counts as "made in" Australia or the U.S. Shipping from Australia alone doesn't qualify it. Generally: it qualifies if it was grown or produced entirely in Australia or the U.S. with no foreign inputs, or made there using foreign parts changed enough in the process — different classification code, or enough Australian/U.S. value in materials and labor. Clothing and textiles follow a stricter rule: the yarn or fiber itself generally has to originate in Australia or the U.S.
3. Know the small-exception rule. For most non-textile products, 10% or less foreign content usually doesn't disqualify the product.
4. No formal Certificate of Origin is required, at any value. You just need to be confident the product qualifies — from a supplier statement or your own knowledge of how it's made. Shipments under $2,500 need only a simple written statement. A certificate still helps if CBP asks you to prove the claim.
5. Keep your paperwork anyway — invoices, supplier information, anything showing what the product is made of and where — in case CBP asks later.

Source: CBP — Australia FTA implementation instructions

Status check (August 2026) 

AUFTA's duty-free treatment is still active. Separately, the Section 301 "forced-labor" tariff system (roughly 60 countries) is in effect, and Australia sits in its 12.5% tier — that 12.5% generally stacks on top of AUFTA's duty-free base for most products (some product-specific exemptions exist). Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos apply on top of everything regardless of FTA status. Check the current combined rate for your specific HTS code before assuming AUFTA is the whole story.