Customs Clearance

Reminder to Campus:

Purchase Order Required for Expeditors Imports
To ensure timely payment of customs fees and smooth clearance for your goods, a valid Purchase Order (PO) number must be provided before import shipments are initiated with Expeditors. If you do not provide a purchase order to Expeditors, the invoice will be sent to your department for processing. The UW is contractually obligated to pay invoices Net 30 days from receipt. Failure to pay invoices promptly may result in the UW being put on credit hold.

Customs Brokerage and Freight Forwarding

The University of Washington has a contract with Expeditors International for customs brokerage and freight forwarding services.  Expeditors is a compliance-driven organization and is in position to understand and address the intricacies of trade regulations and agreements at the global, regional, national and local levels.  By utilizing Expeditors for customs clearance, you can closely manage your international shipping needs and:

  • Meet the requirements of the ever-changing regulatory environment.
  • File your import, export and security declarations electronically.
  • Enhance existing customs compliance programs, such as free trade zones, special regimes, border crossing and trade preferences.
  • Minimize risk and future potential costs of non-compliance.

Expeditors Contacts

Imports:

Customer Service Representative, Customs Brokerage Email UW-CHB@expeditors.com. 

Exports:

Jameson Wenner, Air Export Manager, Jameson.Wenner@expeditors.com
John Williams, Air Export Supervisor, John.Williams@expeditors.com
Donald Gacilo, Air Export Agent, Donald.Gacilo@expeditors.com

Basics of Importing and Exporting

Best Practice: Purchasing from international suppliers:

It is recommended that for all purchases coming into the United States, departments should be aware that items may require customs clearance. Therefore, departments should create two purchase orders;

1) A purchase order for the supplier of the goods
2) A second purchase order for Expeditors covering the customs clearance charges, (the amount can be estimated, use a services line)

It is recommended that you contact Expeditors in advance to notify them of a shipment requiring customs clearance. However, in the event that Expeditors does not have a purchase order to invoice for customs clearance, they will contact you requesting a purchase order number before releasing the shipment.   


When placing an international purchase order, it is recommended you provide the Customs and Freight Forwarding Information sheet to the Shipper notifying them that the University's preferred customs broker is Expeditors

Goods purchased without an Expeditors purchase order

Please follow the following steps when purchasing without a purchase order. (Not recommended)

  1. Notify the shipping company that the UW uses Expeditors for customs clearance.
  2. Contact Expeditors to give them information about the purchase.
  3. ​​​​​Provide correct billing address, department contact with phone number and email address.
  4. Create a purchase order, or use a Supplier Invoice Request in Workday to process the Expeditors invoice.  

Note - Expeditors may contact the recipient of the goods for additional information for invoicing and filing proper shipping documents on behalf of UW.  It is imperative to share this process with the recipient (i.e. research technician, scientist etc.).

How are invoices paid?

  • Expeditors will contact the department requesting the a purchase order number.
  • Once the purchase order number is received, Expeditors will email the invoice to UW for payment.
  • If Expeditors emails the invoice to the department, the department can create a Supplier Invoice in Workday
  • Invoices received without a purchase order number, will be returned to either the department or the supplier depending on the information in the invoice.  

If you don’t preplan or notify Expeditors at the time you’re placing order, who will clear your items? 


Although the best practice is to notify Expeditors as soon as you purchase your goods from an international supplier, U.S. Customs and the Port of Seattle are aware that the UW has a contract with Expeditors International of Washington and will generally notify Expeditors if something comes in for the UW and requires Customs Clearance. Expeditors will then contact the recipient of the goods for additional information on billing and shipping documents. Failure to provide Expeditors with the necessary shipping information may results in U.S. Customs assessing fines against your department.