Exporting Goods to a Foreign Country

When buying goods for export to a foreign country, there are certain steps that you will need to take to comply with export controls, customs clearance and sometimes payment to the supplier in a foreign currency. Federal Export Control Regulation governs the transfer of certain physical objects (e.g. equipment, compounds, materials, prototypes, specimens, or components) outside of the United States, and the transfer of certain types of information to foreign persons inside or outside of the U.S (e.g., data transfer; data on laptop or mobile devices). There are two ways to purchase goods for export to a Foreign Supplier:

  • Export goods under $5,000. 
  • Export goods over $5,000. Export goods over $5,000 with a foreign Ship To address require Supply Chain Management (SCM) to facilitate the purchase.

When export purchase order (PO) is within departmental delegation (SCM is not required):

  1. Review the Export Controls to verify what UC will need to comply with and that the goods can be exported to the final foreign country destination.  Requestor may contact SCM Department assigned buyer in advance of placing the order to work through export control issues.
  2. Complete the BearBuy Non-Catalog Form for goods and equipment under $5,000 for export:
  • Select Supplier from BearBuy Supplier ID list, or provide Supplier information to complete Vendor Setup.
  • Under the Shipping and Purchase Order section of the requisition, complete Ship To with a domestic location (to allow the mandatory requisition field to be completed) and then note in Additional Internal Comments the foreign Ship To address.  
  • Under Addition Internal Comments also note “foreign export order;” include any special packaging or shipping instructions.
  • In the Delivery Options, select appropriate Ship Via:

i. Best Carrier – International Economy or  

ii. Best Carrier – International Freight Forwarder

iii. Best Carrier – International Priority

  • If the PO is FOB Origin (freight paid by UCSF), the Buyer can use the UCSF FedEx account to be billed. Contact your department’s buyer if you have questions.
  • Provide any documentation as an Internal Attachment

When export PO is in excess of departmental delegations or department requests SCM assistance for an export purchase over $5,000:

1. Complete the BearBuy Capital Equipment Form for goods and equipment over $5,000 for export:


• Select Supplier from BearBuy Supplier ID list, or provide Supplier information to complete Vendor Setup.

• Select the Restricted Purchase Type titled Foreign Order/Firearm/Precious Metal must be selected to ensure the requisition will route to SCM for review and processing. 

• Under the Shipping and Purchase Order section of the requisition, complete Ship To with a domestic location (to allow the mandatory requisition field to be completed) and then note in Additional Internal Comments the foreign Ship To address.

• Under Addition Internal Comments also note “foreign export order;” include any special packaging or shipping instructions.
 

  •  In the Delivery Options, select appropriate Ship Via

​i. Best Carrier – International Economy or  

ii. Best Carrier – International

iii. Best Carrier – International Priority

If the PO is FOB Origin (freight paid by UCSF), the Buyer can use the UCSF FedEx account to be billed. Contact your department’s Buyer if you have questions.

Provide any documentation as an Internal Attachment

2. SCM will complete the BearBuy PO, designating the freight forwarder to be used and issuing the PO. The Freight Forwarder will associate their billing to SCM placed PO for services provided. Refer to Export Documents Checklist.

Important Links and Contact Information

  1. For general questions related to Federal Export Control Regulations, please contact [email protected].
  2. For shipping items out of the US and related questions, please contact [email protected] of Office of Research: Environment, Health & Safety.
  3. For questions related to Sponsored Research agreements, please contact [email protected] in Research Management Services (RMS) or [email protected] in the Government and Business Contracts of the Office of Sponsored Research.
  4. Contact your department’s SCM assigned Buyer if you need assistance.

Note: American Cargoservice Inc. is the primary system-wide provider for export and import services.

Buyer issuing the PO will use U.S. dollars from domestic supplier and try to get foreign suppliers shipping to a different foreign destination to provide a conversion rate to U.S. dollars. If payment must be made in the supplier’s national currency, voucher (invoice) will be processed as unsupported and the lien against the PO will need to be manually cleared by the Lien Removal Desk. Contact the Lien Removal Desk at [email protected] freight forwarding to clear the lien after the unsupported voucher has been paid.

*If the Agreement applies American Cargoservice Inc. is the primary service provider. They handle international freight as well as customs brokerage for outbound goods from the U.S. or from one foreign country to another. Federal Express (FedEx) is the primary System-wide Agreement for small package International export transportation.