On Tue, 15 Nov 2005, Richard Hoffbeck wrote: > Harv Nelson wrote: >> >> Several years ago I did such a thing with a friend (a Ham, like me)in >> Brazil. In the end, after paying duties and "fees" to expedite >> movement thru customs, it would have been cheaper to buy the machines >> in downtown Rio. Check with a local consular office before you pack >> your bags. Often it will be easier and cheaper to bring in a completed >> machine ... a laptop, for example, as part of your personal effect and >> "luggage". You may need an "import license" for the component parts >> that costs as much as the components themselves ... and you haven't >> paid the duties, yet! NAFTA be damned! > > NAFTA is just the US, Canada and Mexico so Brazil and Ecuador don't > enter the picture, and after the response Bush got in Argentina last > week it doesn't look like there'll be a general agreement for South > America anytime soon. Just for reference I think the import tariff for > Ecuador is in the 20% - 30% range for most goods. I'm certain that its > something you'd want to research before you turn up at the border with a > suitcase full of motherboards and the likes. I will want to research it, but it seems to me that we bring tons of things to Ecuador all the time without paying import tariffs. Aren't import tariffs for things you plan to sell? The items I'll be bringing over are gifts for relatives. Mike