An air waybill (AWB) is a non-negotiable document issued by a carrier when goods are transported by air. An air waybill acts as delivery instructions, a contract of carriage, and a cargo receipt for airfreight.

An airline terminal fee is charged for all air shipments as a fee for handling the cargo.

Anti-dumping duties are assessed to mitigate the impact of dumping, which is when foreign manufacturers sell products in the United States at a lower cost than their fair value. Anti-dumping duties are priced to make up for the gap between foreign manufacturer pricing and fair market value. If applicable, anti-dumping duties may be anywhere from 0% to 550% of the commercial invoice value.

The Automated Export System (AES) is the automated system for filing U.S. Shipper’s Export Declarations. AES authorizes the electronic filing of export and manifest information directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Due to electronic filing, AES has the capability to edit collected information immediately and correct any detected errors at the time of filing. AES is a nationwide system operational at all ports and for all methods of transportation. The system was designed to assure the compliance and enforcement of laws relating to exports, improving trade statistics, reducing duplicate reporting, and improving customer service.

The Automated Manifest System (AMS) is an electronic information transmission system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Air and ocean shipments into the U.S. require an AMS filing with detailed information about the cargo, as a security measure. The AMS is used for electronic air manifests, but AMS is often used as an umbrella term to refer to all electronic information transmission. ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) is used for electronic truck, rail, and sea manifests. An AMS fee will be charged per BOL/AWB. Either the client or supplier must cover the fee.