Sourcing comparison · Agricultural Equipment
Tariff & fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier.
| Annual import value | Estimated duty & fee savings / year |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $13,188 |
| $250,000 | $65,938 |
| $1,000,000 | $263,750 |
Savings scale linearly with volume. Enter your exact figure to model it precisely.
Calculate your exact volume →A agricultural equipment importer's margin increasingly turns on a single field on the entry: country of origin. Switch the origin from China (37%) to Canada (12%) and an importer reclaims about $26,375 for every $100,000 purchased. Unlike freight or FX, the duty rate is set by which country's stamp the goods carry — a choice made at the contract, not at the port. What follows is the layer-by-layer comparison, the trade context behind each rate, and how the gap grows with volume.
Start with the two duty stacks side by side. Shipped out of China, the product is hit with a 2% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 25% Section 301 surcharge, and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its agricultural equipment, an effective 37% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. On the Canada side, Customs applies a 2% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, and a 10% negotiated bilateral rate on its agricultural equipment, an effective 12% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Because Section 301 adds 25% to China entries and nothing to Canada, that single measure accounts for most of the gap between the two stacks. Part of the spread traces to the Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, a 2026 measure that does not apply uniformly once bilateral deals are accounted for. The $49.74 in processing and harbor fees is the same on both sides, leaving the duty layers as the only mover of the gap. That leaves a $2,637.50 gap on every $10,000 of goods, driven entirely by the 25% spread in effective duty rate. Multiply across your volume and it is near $6,594 for $25,000 and about $26,375 for $100,000 a year. Per $25,000 order, $6,594 separates the two origins — small per shipment, compounding fast across a program.
Within HTS 8432, 8433, 8434, 8435, 8436, agricultural equipment includes Tractors, Combine harvesters, Planters, and Sprayers. The US imports agricultural equipment at scale, so the origin mix for this category is unusually sensitive to tariff policy. China (Asia-Pacific) sends the United States largely consumer electronics, computers servers, and clothing garments. China trades without a special US agreement, so column-1 rates and every surcharge apply to its agricultural equipment in full. Canada (North America) sends the United States largely crude oil petroleum, passenger vehicles, and lumber wood products. Canada's USMCA membership can zero out duties on qualifying agricultural equipment, which is why it so often undercuts non-agreement origins. Different regions — Asia-Pacific versus North America — mean shipping economics deserve a look beside the tariff math. Canada clears this category at a structurally lower rate than China, an edge that persists across order cycles rather than a spot-price blip. With the US running its highest average tariff in decades, concentrated exposure to one high-duty origin is now a measurable annual cost rather than an abstract risk.
Where Canada is a viable supplier, expect roughly $26,375 at $100,000, rising to about $65,938 at $250,000 and $263,750 at $1,000,000 as volume grows. The numbers come straight from the landed-cost engine, with product cost and shipping fixed across both origins to isolate the tariff difference. These figures reflect tariff and fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier. If any price premium from Canada is smaller than the duty saving, the switch still wins on net landed cost. Before acting, confirm the Canada supplier classifies under the same HTS heading, can meet your volume and certifications, and faces no product-specific exclusion or quota that shifts the duty. Re-run the figures close to your decision: the duty landscape for agricultural equipment has shifted repeatedly through the year. Open the Tariff Savings Finder to rank every feasible origin for your specific volume. One origin still carries the Section 122 surcharge, due to expire mid-2026; the ranking can shift once it lapses.
At $100,000 of annual import value, switching from China to Canada saves an estimated $26,375 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 37% to 12%. The saving scales linearly with volume. These figures reflect tariff and fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier.
Canada-origin agricultural equipment is assessed a 2% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, and a 10% negotiated bilateral rate, for an effective 12% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
China carries an effective 37% rate versus 12% for Canada. The gap is driven mainly by the 25% Section 301 surcharge that applies to Chinese-origin goods and stacks on top of every other layer.
Possibly. One of these origins currently carries the Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, which is scheduled to expire in mid-2026. The Tariff Savings Finder lets you toggle a post-expiry view to see whether the ranking shifts once that surcharge is removed.
Tariff rates from Tax Foundation, USITC, and Penn Wharton Budget Model. Last verified May 13, 2026.
