Many U.S. government and other trade-related web sites offer a wide variety of information to importers, exporters, manufacturers and other interested parties, within the United States and worldwide.   One of the most powerful web sites for accessing U.S. government agency information from the local to the federal level is http://www.usa.gov

Direct links to several other useful sites include:

• Department of Homeland Security - http://www.dhs.gov - Cabinet-level department which combines the functions and resources of dozens of federal government agencies performing functions that relate to the security of the United States.
• Customs and Border Protection - http://www.cbp.gov - Utilizes the border protection and inspection functions of INS, Customs and APHIS, bringing together employees that focus exclusively on securing U.S. borders and facilitating the movement of legitimate trade and travelers.
• APHIS (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ - includes information on animal and plant importation restrictions and requirements.
• U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) -- http://www.atf.gov/ - Law enforcement functions relating to firearms, explosives and arson.  ATF also administers the U.S. Criminal Code provisions concerning alcohol and tobacco smuggling and diversion.
• Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) - http://www.ttb.gov - Administers and enforces Federal laws and tax code provisions related to the production and taxation of alcohol and tobacco products.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration - http://www.fda.gov/ - Includes information on food, medical product, radiation and pharmaceutical product safety issues and regulations.
• FDA Basics for Industry - http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/FDABasicsforIndustry/default.htm - Addresses common industry and import topics, including determining whether or no FDA regulations apply to a product and what registration requirements exist.
• U.S. Department of Commerce - https://www.commerce.gov/ - Includes information on several different agency regulations, including Census, International Trade Commission and U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security.
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - http://www.fws.gov/ - Includes information and restrictions on importing wildlife and endangered species.
• U.S. Trade Representative - http://www.ustr.gov/ - U.S. trade policy issues.
• International Trade Commission - https://www.trade.gov/ - Includes U.S. and world trade guides and information. Also see https://dataweb.usitc.gov/, for direct access to trade data and customized reports.
• Federal Trade Commission - http://www.ftc.gov/ - Includes information on care label requirements for imported apparel, consumer protection and anti-dumping issues.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - http://www.epa.gov/ - Includes information on U.S. government restrictions on pollutants, emissions and chemicals.
• National Highway Transportation Safety Administration - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ - Includes information on U.S. Department of Transportation regulations and transportation issues within the United States.
• OTEXA (Office of Textiles & Apparel) of the U.S. Commerce Department's International Trade Administration - http://otexa.trade.gov/ - Includes information on trade agreements, quotas, policies and trade data for textile and apparel imports and exports.
• U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs - http://www.state.gov/ - Includes material on current U.S. foreign policy and other topics.
• Federal Register - https://www.federalregister.gov/ - Includes access to Federal Register notices, archives and other government documents through the U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Thomas, Legislative Information on the Net-  http://www.loc.gov/loc/drt/InterNOT/thomas/index.html - Includes U.S. Congress and other government documents for researching current and past legislation.
• U.S. Code -  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE - Includes searchable database of the Code of Laws of the United States.
• U.S. Council for International Business - http://www.uscib.org - Administers ATA Carnets in the United States.
• World Trade Organization - http://www.wto.org
• World Customs Organization - http://www.wcoomd.org
• International Chamber of Commerce - http://www.iccwbo.org/ - INCOTERMS, world business