Customs laws are renowned for being a little on the difficult side to keep up with, and while here at Barrington Freight we’ll do our best to guide you through the process, knowing what you can and can’t ship before you even book our services is ideal for a seamless shipping process. While this may seem like a pretty easy thing to do, it may be a surprise that sometimes it’s not so simple; did you know you can’t ship pairs of shoes to South Africa, Mexico or India? Or that Kinder Eggs are illegal to import to America? Here, we’re exploring some of the strangest shipping restrictions from around the globe!
Shoes
Yes, really. Shoes – or rather pairs of shoes – are completely illegal to import into South Africa, Mexico or India. In an effort to regain control over shoe production and distribution within their own countries, these three locations have enforced a strange law that no resident can import matching shoes into the country. Single shoes, however, are completely fine to send.
Kinder Eggs
Unless you live in America, it’s likely that you’ve enjoyed the pure heavenly taste of a Kinder Egg. These eggs are made of incredibly creamy milk and white chocolate, and come with the added bonus of cute little toys inside. Oh, and they are officially under a federal ban in the United States due to the fact that they are deemed a choking hazard. These fun treats could cost you around $2,500 per egg in fines if you try and import them, and you won’t even get the chance to taste it before they’re confiscated and probably destroyed. In short – it’s just not worth it.
Dental Products
If you’re planning on sending dental products to Algeria, you might want to think again. Due to the overwhelming unpopularity of fluoride within the country, they have deemed it poisonous and harmful in some areas. All dental products have been banned in the country for this exact reason, so you won’t be finding any Colgate here!
Pufferfish
You may think that the Japanese pufferfish is adorable and a little funny to watch, but the European Union certainly doesn’t think so. In fact, due to the poisonous nature of its organs, this is completely banned in any EU countries. The US hasn’t banned it, but it does require licenced chefs if you’re planning on cooking it. Do your research if you, for any reason, need to send a pufferfish overseas!
Car Horns
Saudi Arabia aren’t best known for their liberal thinking. In fact, you’ll find countless things banned here including music in shopping centres, and birthday cards that play music – are you seeing the pattern? Car horns are particularly noisy, and it appears that Saudi Arabia aren’t fans of anything particularly noisy. All noisy or loud goods are banned here, so you might want to rethink sending that car horn!
While some customs rules and regulations may seem ridiculous, every country has their rules for a reason. Whether it’s struggling markets they want to keep control of, or banning poisonous fish for safety purposes, the reasons are there and so it’s important to pay attention to each country’s rules and ensure we adhere to them.
If you’re looking to ship your goods overseas, why not get a quote from us today, or get in touch if you’d like more information?
