When a Chinese supplier sells DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) but refuses to cover U.S. duties, Section 301 tariffs, MPF/HMF fees, or broker charges after CBP entry, the priority is to lock in the contract Incoterms clause, customs entry record, payment trail, and Chinese entity identity before liquidation, demurrage, or a forced importer-of-record substitution weakens the U.S. claim.
Save the CF 7501 entry summary, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, HTSUS classification, Section 301 list, broker invoice, and any CBP protest filings.
Pull every contract version, purchase order, quote, and email that names DDP, DAP, FOB, or duty/tariff responsibility — including post-tariff renegotiation requests.
Determine who is shown as importer of record, who paid duties, who held the surety bond, and whether the supplier used a third-party U.S. nominee.
DDP disputes often involve mismatched parties: the contract supplier, the Chinese exporter, the U.S. nominee importer of record, the freight forwarder, and the customs broker. Section 301 surcharges, antidumping/countervailing duties, and reclassification audits raise the duty bill far above what the supplier originally quoted, and Chinese suppliers commonly try to push the increase back to the U.S. buyer despite the DDP term.
Useful evidence includes the signed contract and Incoterms clause, purchase orders, commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, CF 7501 entry summaries, HTSUS codes, Section 301 list designations, antidumping/countervailing case references, broker invoices, surety bond records, wire confirmations, supplier refund or reimbursement refusals, and any CBP protest or post-summary corrections.
If the supplier is in mainland China, breach-of-contract claims for unpaid duties usually require Hague Convention service. The package should use the correct Chinese legal name, registered address, and align with court deadlines while CBP liquidation, protest, and reclassification proceedings continue in parallel.
Before default, evaluate the supplier's U.S. footprint: marketplace balances, U.S. distributor receivables, affiliate inventory, customs broker deposits, and bank trails. Those facts shape settlement pressure, expedited discovery, attachment, and post-judgment collection on what is otherwise a paper-thin overseas defendant.
Do not silently absorb the duty surcharge to keep cargo moving without a written reservation of rights. Paying disputed duties without preserving the breach and reimbursement claim is the most common way DDP cases lose their leverage.
Generally yes by contract — DDP allocates duties to the seller — but enforcement depends on the contract wording, who is shown as importer of record, and whether U.S. agency rules even permit a foreign principal to act as IOR for the specific entry.
Force majeure and hardship arguments are usually narrow. Courts often hold that an experienced exporter on DDP terms assumed the duty risk unless the contract clearly carved out new trade-policy charges.
Sometimes, but unilateral setoff can trigger breach and shipment-stop counterclaims. Counsel should structure setoff, reservation of rights, and demand language before deducting.