How To Save on Shipping
from Poland to the US

Poland wasn’t always a popular country from which to source goods. In the 1990s and into the early 2000s, it was still seen by many as an Eastern Bloc country and risky to do business with. A poor road infrastructure made it difficult to move cargo out of the country — modern highways were few and far between, and trucks regularly needed to reroute to avoid low bridges.

That all began to change in 2004. Since then, the EU has poured billions of dollars into road and rail infrastructure improvements throughout the country. The following chart shows the top commodities exported from Poland to the US.

Several factors have fuelled the rise of Polish manufacturing and the increased interest in Poland as a source of machinery, medical equipment, furniture, precious metals, and other commodities:

• More reliable products. As an EU member, Poland adopted EU quality, technology, and regulatory standards. Companies from around the world — including many American, German, and UK manufacturers — have invested in new plants there, especially automotive and aerospace firms.
• Faster transit times. It takes about 20 days to ship containers from Poland to the US East Coast, compared to a 30-day range for cargo originating in the Far East. Less inventory, faster cash cycle — a huge supply chain advantage.
• Reduced sourcing costs. Poland’s lower cost structure allows importers to source goods for less than comparable goods in Western Europe, while maintaining high quality standards.

While Poland is not a major exporter of raw steel and aluminium, it does export many products that include those materials. Hundreds of such products are covered by the Trump administration’s proclamation listing goods now subject to 25% import duties.

Breaking out freight costs

One way to lessen the blow from new tariffs is to make sure to break out the cost of ocean freight on the commercial invoice. If a product is valued at $25,000 and ocean freight costs $5,000, the total $30,000 could appear on the invoice. If freight is not broken out separately, the entire $30,000 could be subject to the 25% duty rate — a costly mistake. Break it out, and duty applies only to the $25,000 product value.

I.C.E. also recommends packing as much product as possible into each container to reduce the number of containers needed. This method can lower container count by 20% — considerable savings in freight costs.

Getting a binding ruling from CBP

Your customs broker can apply to CBP on your behalf for a binding ruling — petitioning the customs agency to classify, value, or apply duty rates to a product before it is imported. This ruling is legally binding for both CBP and the importer at all US ports of entry, ensuring consistency in customs treatment. In some cases, the ruling can result in a lower duty rate.

A binding ruling can cover: tariff classification (correct HS code and duty rate), customs valuation (correct transaction value), country of origin (to determine if free trade agreements apply), and other agreements such as FTZ benefits, drawback, quotas, or special programs.

Rozek sounded a note of caution: “It could go in your favor, or it could go against you. You could win and eliminate the tariff. But CBP could also issue a ruling that puts you in a different tariff category at a higher rate. It’s a double-edged sword.”

Once you’ve decided to import from Poland, you’ll need to identify a shipping company. In our experience, about 70% of the time that decision is made in the US by the purchasing company, under Ex Works (EXW) Incoterms — where the buyer is responsible for managing and paying for transport from the seller’s overseas factory.

If you ship via ocean container, understand that there is no direct ocean service from Poland to the US. You have two options:

• Load containers onto feeder vessels in the Polish port cities of Gdańsk or Gdynia for shipping to a major Western European seaport, where goods are transloaded onto a vessel bound for the US
• Truck containers directly to a major Western European seaport (Hamburg, Antwerp, or Rotterdam)

This complexity underscores the need for a reliable freight partner to ensure containers are not delayed as they move from port to port.

Busy importers might be tempted to contract with a steamship line for door-to-door service — but that would be like booking your entire Hawaii vacation through the airline. Steamship lines are not known for careful monitoring of door-to-door shipments. For that, you need either a freight forwarder or an NVOCC that will monitor the entire move.

NVOCCs offer more flexibility than forwarders for international moves. Unlike a freight forwarder, an NVOCC can issue its own bill of lading (BOL) for door-to-door service that is just as legally recognized as the steamship line’s BOL. While an NVOCC can rely on the line for port-to-port service, it can independently manage all other aspects — including landside transport and customs clearance. The forwarder, by contrast, can only book with steamship lines on a door-to-door basis and cannot independently control the move once it’s on the line’s BOL.

When moving freight to ports, you have a choice of rail or truck. Like anywhere else, rail is cheaper in Poland but also slower and less flexible. If freight originates in Northern Poland near the ports, rail doesn’t make sense. But if freight originates in Southern Poland — home to most of the country’s manufacturing — rail is available directly to Gdynia or even German ports.

Trucking often keeps freight moving more efficiently. A reduced rate is often available if you have a local logistics partner that can identify backhaul opportunities. Because Poland is a smaller country, you often have truckers running southbound with a container from the port that needs to get back north — keeping truck rates more economical.

Any shipment leaving Poland must go through export customs clearance. The rules are the same throughout the EU — fully digitized, with clearance possible at inland customs offices. However, inland offices can add time and distance when clearance can happen just as easily at the port.

Beginning in February 2025, there was a major realignment of ocean carrier alliances, precipitated by market dynamics and shifting business priorities. In the short term, it’s causing some disruption to sailings — including transit delays and shifts in port and terminal calls. Another new wrinkle: alliances are now more lenient in allowing members to partner with non-members, complicating scheduling and booking.

For shipments from Poland to the US, you could encounter a situation where a feeder vessel operator that used to ferry cargo from Gdańsk or Gdynia to a major port such as Rotterdam or Hamburg no longer does so. This could extend transit time by a few days or even a week, although new carrier/feeder partnerships will inevitably form to address these gaps.

Things get more complicated if goods are purchased under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) terms and the shipper is the importer of record — leaving the Polish supplier with the uncomfortable task of finding a reliable customs broker in the US. In these situations, it can be easier to find an NVOCC that also offers customs brokerage services in both Poland and the US, with influence on how clearances are done on both sides.

The right customs broker can also help manage Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) issues. The HTS is supposed to be universal, but when a number used in Poland does not have a corresponding US tariff number, an experienced broker will find a number that is not only accurate but could reduce duty charges.

Unless you are a large-volume shipper, ocean carriers often do a poor job managing the details of port pick-ups and final deliveries. Their strength is managing the ocean move.

A good example is heavyweight freight shipping. Ocean carriers regularly advise customers to limit container weights to 44,000 pounds, even though the legal limit is around 10,000 pounds above that. For shippers of dense freight (metal, beverages, knock-down furniture), this means shipping up to 25% more containers than necessary — a six-figure hit to the profit line for many businesses.

Why do ocean carriers give this advice? Because heavy containers require specialized trucking partners for port-to-consignee shipments — relationships most ocean carriers lack. It’s simply more efficient for them to use standard tractor-trailers. But those special arrangements can be the key to five- and six-figure savings.

There are reasons why Poland is among the top 10 fastest-growing US trade partners:

• An excellent workforce that turns out high-quality products at competitive prices
• A lower cost structure that gives Polish manufacturers a price advantage over Western European competitors
• Inbound transit times to the Eastern US that are at least 10 days faster than Asian imports

But to fully capitalise on these advantages, importers must have an effective inbound shipping solution — one that solves for transport and customs challenges commonly seen on Poland-to-US container freight. We hope this guide helps you navigate some of these challenges.

We’ll end with frank advice, no sugar coating — or as they say in Poland, “mówić prosto z mostu” (speaking straight from the bridge). The answer could simply be a matter of finding a partner to do it for you — a logistics provider like I.C.E. Transport that manages a large volume of Poland-to-US freight and has seen and solved any shipping challenge you are likely to face.

How many Poland shipping experts does it take to give you a competitive advantage?

Just one.