Switching animal feed sourcing from Peru to Bolivia

Buyers comparing Peru and Bolivia for animal feed are really comparing two very different duty stacks. Goods from Peru clear at an effective 14%, while Bolivia clears the same category at 1.5% — about $13,188 a year at $100,000 of imports. For a category this exposed to surcharges, the sourcing map is effectively a pricing map. The sections that follow show where every dollar of the difference comes from.

How the tariff stacks compare

Here is how US Customs builds the bill for each origin. A Peru origin attracts a 1.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 12.5% forced-labor Section 301 duty on its animal feed, an effective 14% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. On the Bolivia side, Customs applies a 1.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty on its animal feed, an effective 1.5% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Because the MPF and HMF ($49.74 combined) track customs value rather than origin, they wash out of the comparison entirely. The per-shipment gap comes to $1,318.75 on $10,000 of goods — a clean read on the 12.5% rate difference. Across a year that is roughly $3,297 on a $25,000 purchase order and about $13,188 on a $100,000 program. At order level, $25,000 of goods carries roughly $3,297 more duty from Peru than from Bolivia.

Trade context

The category, HTS 2301, 2302, 2303, 2304, 2305, 2306, 2307, 2308, 2309, takes in Soybean meal, Fishmeal, Corn gluten feed, Pet food, Poultry feed, and Livestock feed supplements among other animal feed. Animal Feed is a high-turnover category where landed-cost discipline separates the importers who hold margin from those who don't. In practical terms, prepared animal feeds, fishmeal, soybean meal, corn gluten feed, and other agricultural inputs used for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture operations. Peru, in South America, ships the US mainly copper products, precious metals jewelry, and fresh produce. Absent a trade deal, Peru's animal feed is assessed standard duties and whatever surcharges apply. Bolivia's trade profile leans toward natural gas lng, crude oil petroleum, and food, and it sits in South America. With no preferential deal in force, Bolivia animal feed faces the standard rates plus any applicable surcharge. Because both sit in South America, a switch barely changes the freight picture and mostly changes the duty bill. Bolivia is surfaced as a credible alternative, not just the cheapest line — it is among the origins a US buyer of animal feed could realistically qualify. Because surcharges have stacked rates well above their statutory base, country of origin has become a first-order cost driver for animal feed rather than a footnote.

Recommendation

Anchor your own volume to these tiers: $6,594 at $50,000, $32,969 at $250,000, $131,875 at $1,000,000, and about $13,188 at $100,000. The comparison is generated by running the same inputs through the tariff engine for each origin, which keeps everything but the duty layers equal. 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. Read the $13,188 as a transition budget — if re-sourcing to Bolivia costs less than the annual saving, it pays back inside a year. Diligence on Bolivia is commercial, not regulatory: supplier capacity, MOQ, tooling and re-qualification cost — the duty advantage itself is already settled above. The saving is current today; given the pace of 2026 revisions, verify it again at contract signing. Use the Tariff Savings Finder to test your real numbers and see alternatives beyond Bolivia.