The HS code is the hard part.
One API call solves it.

Customs classification is the single hardest step in cross-border trade: a wrong HS code means seized shipments, retroactive duty payments, or up to 10x penalties. Cleo's API takes a free-text product description and returns the most likely HS6 → HS10 code with a confidence score, the applicable duty / VAT / excise rates, and a defensible product description suitable for a customs declaration — in one call.

177 jurisdictions, with full WCO HS, EU TARIC, US HTSUS, UK Global Tariff, China MFN, Japan, Korea, ASEAN, GCC, Brazil NCM, Mexico TIGIE, India ITC-HS, Russia / EAEU TN VED, EFTA. Free Trade Agreement preferential rates (CETA, EU-UK TCA, USMCA, RCEP, AfCFTA…) are returned alongside the MFN rate.

Every result carries a confidence score (0-1). Above 0.85, you can use it directly in a customs declaration with no human review. Below 0.85, the API returns top-5 alternatives with reasoning, and recommends a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) request — the only way to get certainty under EU law. We never claim 100% accuracy because nobody can — but we are transparent about uncertainty.

GET /v2/customs/dual-use checks whether a product is controlled under EU Regulation 2021/821, the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR / CCL), the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. For each destination, the API returns the relevant control list entry and whether a licence is required.

POST /v2/sanctions/screen checks 8 authorities: EU Consolidated, US OFAC SDN + SSI, UK HMT, UN Security Council, Switzerland SECO, Canada SEMA, Australia DFAT and Japan METI. Each match returns the list, the listing date, the sanctions applied (asset freeze, travel ban, sector-specific) and the original notice URL.

POST /v2/customs/landed-cost takes HS code + origin + destination + FOB price (USD) and returns: CIF (FOB + freight + insurance estimate), customs duty applied to CIF at the right preferential rate if any FTA applies, VAT applied on CIF + duty, customs broker fees, and the final landed cost. Each component is itemised so you can plug it into Shopify / WooCommerce / your ERP as a line item.

No. Cleo's HS Code API returns advisory data: classifications carry a confidence score, not certainty. For binding rulings, request a BTI in the EU, a CROSS ruling in the US, or the equivalent in your destination country. We provide the data and the reasoning — the binding decision remains the customs authority's.