Sourcing comparison · Fresh Produce
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 | $1,319 |
| $250,000 | $6,594 |
| $1,000,000 | $26,375 |
Savings scale linearly with volume. Enter your exact figure to model it precisely.
Calculate your exact volume →The cheapest factory for fresh produce is no longer always the cheapest landed cost — tariffs have reshuffled the math. Chile carries roughly 17.5% in duties and fees against 15% for Canada, a spread worth near $2,638 on $100,000 of annual volume. For a category this exposed to surcharges, the sourcing map is effectively a pricing map. Read on for the full stack comparison, the policy reasons behind the gap, and a scaling table for your own volume.
Both stacks share the same customs valuation, so the comparison is apples to apples. On the Chile side, Customs applies a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 12.5% forced-labor Section 301 duty on its fresh produce, an effective 17.5% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. A Canada origin attracts a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% forced-labor Section 301 duty on its fresh produce, an effective 15% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. 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 arithmetic difference between the stacks is $263.75 per $10,000 entry, all of it in the duty layers since the processing fees are origin-blind. A $25,000 order therefore differs by about $659, and a $100,000 year by roughly $2,638. A buyer placing $25,000 orders sees about $659 of avoidable duty on each one.
The category, HTS 07, 08, takes in Avocados, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Garlic, Mangoes, Bananas, and Bell peppers among other fresh produce. Demand for fresh produce is broad and price-sensitive, which is exactly why a duty wedge of this size reshapes who can supply the US market competitively. Fresh, chilled, or frozen vegetables, fruits, and nuts imported for human consumption. Covers seasonal and year-round produce including tropical fruits not grown domestically. A South America supplier, Chile concentrates its US exports in copper products, fresh produce, and wine spirits. Absent a trade deal, Chile's fresh produce is assessed standard duties and whatever surcharges apply. A North America supplier, Canada concentrates its US exports in crude oil petroleum, passenger vehicles, and lumber wood products. Through USMCA, qualifying Canada fresh produce enters duty-free (USMCA 0%, except Section 338 annex goods), collapsing the special-tariff layer to nothing. Spanning South America and North America, the two lanes differ in freight and transit, so weigh those against the duty saving. Canada clears this category at a structurally lower rate than Chile, an edge that persists across order cycles rather than a spot-price blip. Because surcharges have stacked rates well above their statutory base, country of origin has become a first-order cost driver for fresh produce rather than a footnote.
The headline is $2,638 at $100,000; because the rate gap is fixed, larger programs scale cleanly — $1,319, $6,594, and $26,375 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 Canada charges from the duty saving to get the true net benefit before deciding. A quick checklist for the Canada 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.
At $100,000 of annual import value, switching from Chile to Canada saves an estimated $2,638 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 17.5% to 15%. 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 fresh produce is assessed a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% forced-labor Section 301 duty, for an effective 15% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
Chile carries an effective 17.5% rate versus 15% for Canada. The gap comes from differences in the base, Section 232 and bilateral rates that apply to each origin.
Tariff rates from Tax Foundation, USITC, and Penn Wharton Budget Model; retaliatory and industry data from the ITA Foreign Retaliations Database and U.S. Census Bureau (NAICS). Last verified .
