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Which products should you not import from China to the US?

Don’t import what US law forbids, like counterfeits, nor weapons from China, which the US refuses to permit, and don’t import a regulated product without its paperwork: children’s products, electronics that use radio, food, cosmetics, plants or wood. Rabbit, which buys on 1688 for you, refuses some of these families outright; for the rest, you are the importer, and a customs broker can check your product.

By , founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

This page doesn’t list every rule, and it isn’t legal advice. It shows the two kinds of products to stay away from, the agency behind each family, and what Rabbit itself refuses. For your exact product, ask a customs broker: what a customs broker does for you.

What is the difference between a prohibited and a restricted product?

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defines both. Prohibited means the item is forbidden by law to enter the United States. Restricted means it needs a license or a permit from a federal agency, and enters only once that requirement is met. CBP adds a point that matters when you buy online: the importer, not the seller, is the one responsible for making sure the goods comply. When Rabbit buys for you, the product is still yours to check: its terms leave your customs and product obligations with you, as a reseller.

Which products from China are prohibited in the US?

  • Counterfeits. CBP targets and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods. A “replica” of a brand, a fake logo, a copy sold as the original: don’t buy it.
  • Contraband. CBP names narcotics and tainted food, among others.
  • Firearms, ammunition and other defense articles from China, in practice. Items on the U.S. Munitions Import List enter only with an ATF permit, and the regulation states a US policy to deny approvals for countries under an arms embargo. It names China.

Which products from China need paperwork before you import them?

Product familyAgencyWhat it asks
Children’s products, and other products under a consumer safety ruleCPSCA certificate issued by the importer. From July 8, 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products file it electronically at entry.
Food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, products that emit radiation, tobaccoFDAThe same requirements as a product made in the US.
Anything with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or another radioFCCA valid FCC authorization before import. Listing it on an online marketplace counts as marketing it.
Plants, seeds, cut flowers, soil, wood products, wood packagingUSDA (APHIS)Its import rules, and treatment and certification for wood packaging.
Firearms, ammunition, defense articlesATFA permit (and see above for China).

What the CPSC, the FDA and the FCC ask, in detail: FCC, FDA and CPSC rules for products from China. The certificate for children’s products: how to resell products from China in the US.

What does Rabbit refuse to buy for you?

  • In ChatGPT or Claude, Rabbit doesn’t show a product whose title names one of these families, and it doesn’t run a search that asks for one: weapons, cannabis, alcohol, medicines, tobacco and vapes, self-defense items like pepper spray or stun guns, fireworks and explosives, adult products, slot machines, hidden cameras and jammers, card skimmers and fake IDs, ivory and other protected wildlife, drugs, extremist symbols, counterfeits and replicas.
  • In your store, Rabbit doesn’t list a product whose title names weapons, cannabis, alcohol or medicines.
  • Everywhere, a 1688 listing whose seller writes in its own title that it is a replica isn’t shown, and Rabbit won’t quote it, even from a pasted link.

Which products does Rabbit’s US catalog leave out?

On October 31, 2026, Rabbit picked 436 products from 1688’s own ranking of what sells in the US. Before choosing, it left out food, health products, cosmetics, licensed characters, big brands, and spare parts made for a named model. The products Rabbit picks for a beginner leave out more: fashion, baby, beauty and jewelry, and anything liquid. What sells in the US from 1688, with the numbers.

Does Rabbit check that your product is legal in the US?

No. Rabbit’s filters read the product’s title. They stop a product that names what it is; they don’t see a counterfeit sold without the word, or a toy without its certificate. At the warehouse in China, every parcel is checked and photographed, but that check is not a certification, a lab test or a proof that a product is authentic. Before a batch of anything in the table above, ask a customs broker what your product needs, and get its test reports before you pay for the batch, not after.

How does Rabbit buy from 1688 for you?

  1. Search. Send me a 1688 link, a photo or a few words: I search 1688 and AliExpress and show you what I find. You never read Chinese or talk to the supplier, and nothing I write to you is in Chinese. When my search finds nothing, a person in China searches for you.
  2. Price it. Before you order, I estimate the cost delivered to your door and your estimated profit on each sale. In the US, the import duties on goods from China are counted.
  3. Order. You order and pay in Rabbit, in dollars with a US account. Your first order doesn’t need a subscription.
  4. Receive in China. Your goods arrive at my warehouse in China. Every parcel is opened, checked and photographed, and you see the photos before it ships. If a piece doesn’t match, I offer a replacement, a credit or a refund.
  5. Ship. I ship to you, in the US or in any of the 23 countries I deliver to. A shipping quote is a ceiling: it can go down when the parcel is weighed, never up.
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Sources

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.