Export Brass & Metal Handicraft from India to the USA

Brass and metal handicrafts from India—think handcast urlis, engraved pooja sets, Dhokra figurines, and bespoke OEM parts—ship readily to US buyers under HTS 7419.20 and 8306.29, provided you clear US Customs and Border Protection, watch Prop 65 lead thresholds, and meet CPSIA rules for anything child-adjacent.

Who buys in the USA and what product fits

The US is the single biggest market for Indian handicrafts, and brass moves through four distinct buyer types. Home decor and lifestyle retailers (Anthropologie-style buyers, West Elm, and Wayfair-style importers) want oxidized or lacquered urlis, hand-engraved pooja thalis, and Ganesha/Nataraja figurines. Indian diaspora retailers—both online (Etsy, Amazon India-specialist sellers) and physical stores in New Jersey, Texas, and California—stock diyas, kalash, and puja utensils year-round, with Diwali season (August–October shipping) driving 30–40% of annual volume. Architectural and hospitality buyers source OEM brass hardware, stair rods, switch plates, and reproduction colonial fixtures—these are higher value but require CAD drawings and finish swatches. Boutique interior designers want hand-hammered (thatheri) brass from Saharanpur or Bastar Dhokra tribal art—small runs, premium pricing, artist stories matter.

Match product to buyer: heavy cast vessels need sea freight friendly designs; thin-engraved items need export-grade anti-tarnish lacquer.

Export mechanics from India

You need four things in place. IEC (Import Export Code) from DGFT—mandatory, no export is possible without it. GST LUT (Letter of Undertaking) filed on the GST portal to zero-rate your exports; otherwise you'll pay IGST upfront and chase refunds. RCMC from EPCH (Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts) gives you the "Handicraft" registration that buyers and customs expect, plus access to market development assistance and Indian government fair pavilions. Shipping bill filed on ICEGATE before cargo leaves; use HSN 7419.20 (cast articles of copper) or 7419.99 (other), and claim RoDTEP scrips for embedded duties. Most brass exporters ship FOB from Nhava Sheva (JNPT) or Mundra—both have weekly direct services to Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/NJ.

Shipping, lead time, and US compliance

Sea freight from Mundra to Los Angeles typically runs 22–32 days; to New York 28–40 days. Air freight (Delhi or Mumbai) takes 3–5 days but triples cost—use it for samples and Diwali reorders. Brass is heavy (roughly 8.4 g/cc) and dense, so pack with foam, silica gel, and sealed polybags to prevent oxidation and tarnish in transit.

On the US side, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the authority; verify exact HTS classification and duty rates with them or a licensed customs broker before quoting. For compliance, three rules bite hard: California Proposition 65 (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment) limits lead content and requires warnings on brass items sold in California—get a lab certificate showing lead content well under thresholds. CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Commission) applies to anything marketed for children under 12—doll accessories, toy figurines, decorative items with child appeal—need tracking labels, lead-content testing, and small-parts compliance per 16 CFR 1500. Lacey Act declarations are usually simple since brass is not a protected wood, but components mixed in (wooden bases, fabric) need paperwork.

MOQ, pricing, samples, quality

For handcast decor, expect buyers to ask for 50–100 pieces per SKU; OEM brass parts often run 500–2,000 pieces. Quote FOB India per piece with a clear breakdown—casting, engraving, finishing, packing—so the buyer can calculate landed cost. Samples cost 2–3x production price; charge upfront and offer to credit the sample cost against the first PO. For quality, agree a pre-shipment inspection (SGS or Intertek) checking weight tolerance (±5%), surface finish, casting porosity, engraving depth, and lacquer adhesion. Specify the alloy (typically 60/40 or 70/30 brass), and disclose whether items are solid brass or brass-plated—misdeclaration is the most common dispute trigger with US buyers.

Bottom line

Brass and metal handicrafts ship cleanly to the US under standard HTS 7419/8306 lines, but Prop 65 lead testing and CPSIA labeling for child-marketed items are non-negotiable. Lock your compliance documentation before quoting, build a 60–90 day production buffer, and lean on EPCH and a US-based customs broker to handle the regulatory load.