Exporting an Ariel WNG to the USA

[keithjohnston55]

Help!

My Ariel WNG is destined for the USA but has been designated as a military motorcycle and as such we are told requires a standard individual export licence. Has anybody any experience of this process?

I must say I’m surprised as the bike was built from parts and registered in 1980.

Any help and advice appreciated please.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi, look for a exporter thats ships to the USA and they will help you to ship it and they will put it in container , just hope Trump doesn't up the import duties

[nevhunter]

Where does the BS stop? Nev

[keithjohnston55]

Thanks Johnny.

The buyer has arranged a UK shipper, but they don’t obtain the Export Licence! That has to be obtained by either the seller or buyer and it’s easier for me to apply for one. The question really was why the need for an export licence? Accord8ng to the shipper in this case the buyer made the mistake of describing the WNG as military. Cue alarms ringing and lights strobing!

Anyway licence applied for so let’s see what happens.

Cheers

Keith

[simon.holyfield]

We could offer a dating certificate, showing when the machine was built and confirming it's authenticity as a historic vehicle?

[cmfalco]

The question really was why the need for an export licence? Accord8ng to the shipper in this case the buyer made the mistake of describing the WNG as military.

ITAR -- International Traffic in Arms Regulations -- applies to the import and export of all defense products. The U.S. government doesn't want anyone sending arms of any kind to, say, Houthis in Yemen, nor does it want surplus anti-tank rockets from former Soviet countries sent to private parties in the U.S. The shipper obviously doesn't want to get crosswise with the U.S. government since that would be bad for all their future shipments so, since "military" is on an official document, that "minor issue" is something serious that has to be properly dealt with.

The profit from shipping one motorcycle would be trivial for any company engaged in international shipments, so they would be silly to ignore the fact "military" is marked on an official document given that the word will be automatically flagged. So, it is completely reasonable they don't want you to trick them into shipping your military Ariel WNG -- Weapons-grade Nuclear Grenade -- without proper documentation. Personally, I think the shipper's response to this is perfectly reasonable.

[cmfalco]

We could offer a dating certificate, showing when the machine was built and confirming it's authenticity as a historic vehicle?

I doubt that would solve the problem since the problem is it's a nuclear grenade, not the age of the grenade. Seriously, even if it didn't get the shipper on a black list, having to spend, say, a half-hour convincing a Customs agent that the grenade had been deactivated would eat up all the profit from the shipment. If I were the shipper, I would say that it isn't worth gambling on the potential hassle of shipping something marked "military" to the U.S.

[Akumar]

Hi Keith,

I have imported bikes into USA. The import process into USA is very straightforward and much simpler than it is described by most folks. The buyer needs to work with a customs broker here in USA to handle import paperwork. Again that too is much simpler than it sounds. If the bike has not left the exporting country there is absolutely no need to worry. The customs paperwork can be modified prior to shipping.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi , we was importing cars and trucks and motorcycles from the USA to go to other countries but they had to come to the UK first to get a SVA then shipped out to the countries that ouder them we couldn't send them from the USA straight to the buyer

[keithjohnston55]

Thank you Simon Holyfield for your offer. Export licence applied for and apparently it take 3-4 weeks for a response. Will see if a dating certificate is necessary.

Thank you also for the other comments. It IS a serious matter even though our activity is recreational. Getting the paperwork wrong can be extremely costly both in time and £.