Benin Customs Status & U.S. Trade Treatment

At a glance

U.S. trade agreement

None

Average duty rate, August 2026

0.63%

Duty on U.S. imports

$53K

U.S. imports / exports

$8.5M / $35.5M a month

Agreements per the U.S. Trade Representative; customs territory per the European Commission. Duty is what the Census Bureau calculates for the month, not what was paid; a product's rate can differ widely from the country average.

Top U.S. imports from Benin

These 5 make up 98% of U.S. imports from Benin in the latest month.

1. Soybean Oilcake & Other Solid Residues from Soy Oil Extraction HS 230400$5.0M
2. Shelled Cashew Nuts, Fresh or Dried HS 080132$2.4M
3. Toilet & Kitchen Linen of Cotton Terry Fabrics HS 630260$523K
4. Printed Cotton Bed Linen (Woven, Not Knitted or Crocheted) HS 630221$226K
5. Women's & Girls' Knitted Trousers, Overalls, Breeches & Shorts of Cotton HS 610462$211K

Top U.S. exports to Benin

These 5 make up 84% of U.S. exports to Benin in the latest month.

1. Passenger Motor Vehicles, Not Elsewhere Specified HS 870390$8.9M
2. Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories, NESOI HS 870899$7.5M
3. Passenger Cars with Spark-Ignition Engine, Over 1,500 cc to 3,000 cc HS 870323$5.4M
4. Frozen Chicken Cuts & Edible Offal (Including Livers) HS 020714$4.6M
5. Passenger Cars with Spark-Ignition Engine, Over 3,000 cc HS 870324$3.4M

Trade overview

Benin's port of Cotonou functions as a key transit gateway for landlocked neighbors including Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, meaning that goods recorded under Beninese origin in US trade data may include significant re-export volumes. Domestically, cotton is the country's primary agricultural export, and cashew nuts have grown as a meaningful commodity. Trade professionals should scrutinize bills of lading and certificates of origin carefully when Cotonou appears as the port of loading.