Sourcing comparison · Consumer Electronics
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 →The cheapest factory for consumer electronics is no longer always the cheapest landed cost — tariffs have reshuffled the math. China carries roughly 36.5% in duties and fees against 11.5% for Mexico, a spread worth near $26,375 on $100,000 of annual volume. The importers who win this cycle are the ones treating country of origin as a number to optimise, not a given. Below, each tariff layer is laid out for both origins, with the saving scaled to several order sizes.
Both stacks share the same customs valuation, so the comparison is apples to apples. From China, the entry is assessed a 1.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 25% Section 301 surcharge, and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its consumer electronics, an effective 36.5% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Shipped out of Mexico, the product is hit with a 1.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its consumer electronics, an effective 11.5% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Section 301 does the damage here — 25% levied specifically on China shipments, stacked above the base and special-tariff layers rather than replacing them. The Section 122 layer here is the reciprocal surcharge introduced in 2026; because it expires mid-year, the ranking it produces is worth re-checking after it lifts. Two charges are origin-blind — the MPF and HMF, together $49.74 on this entry — which is why the entire difference lives in the duty layers. The per-shipment gap comes to $2,637.50 on $10,000 of goods — a clean read on the 25% rate difference. That same per-dollar gap is about $6,594 on a $25,000 order and $26,375 on $100,000 of annual volume. A buyer placing $25,000 orders sees about $6,594 of avoidable duty on each one.
consumer electronics — Smartphones, TVs, Tablets, and Laptops and similar goods — falls under HTS 85. Because consumer electronics moves in volume, even a modest per-unit duty gap aggregates into a number that decides sourcing strategy. From Asia-Pacific, China's top US-bound categories include consumer electronics, computers servers, and clothing garments. With no preferential deal in force, China consumer electronics faces the standard rates plus any applicable surcharge. From North America, Mexico's top US-bound categories include passenger vehicles, auto parts components, and consumer electronics. USMCA lets compliant Mexico consumer electronics skip the duty stack other origins pay, provided rules of origin are satisfied. Spanning Asia-Pacific and North America, the two lanes differ in freight and transit, so weigh those against the duty saving. A switch to Mexico still hinges on capacity, certification and lead time, but the duty advantage is the part that is already quantified. US tariff policy in 2026 is unusually fluid, with effective rates on many categories changing several times a year — a reason to treat any origin comparison as a live calculation rather than a fixed sheet.
The headline is $26,375 at $100,000; because the rate gap is fixed, larger programs scale cleanly — $13,188, $65,938, and $263,750 at $50,000, $250,000, and $1,000,000. 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. Subtract any per-unit premium Mexico charges from the duty saving to get the true net benefit before deciding. A quick checklist for the Mexico option: match the HTS classification, get a quote that itemises duty apart from freight, and check for any antidumping or countervailing order on your item. Time the switch with the policy calendar in mind — the post-Section-122 picture can favour a different origin entirely. Model your exact volume and compare further origins in the interactive Tariff Savings Finder. 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 Mexico saves an estimated $26,375 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 36.5% to 11.5%. 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.
Mexico-origin consumer electronics is assessed a 1.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, for an effective 11.5% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
China carries an effective 36.5% rate versus 11.5% for Mexico. 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.
