Sourcing comparison · HVAC 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 hvac equipment importer's margin increasingly turns on a single field on the entry: country of origin. Goods from China clear at an effective 38%, while Mexico clears the same category at 13% — about $26,375 a year at $100,000 of imports. The duty line moves with paperwork, not production cost, which is why it rewards attention. The breakdown below itemises both duty stacks so the figure is auditable, not asserted.
Start with the two duty stacks side by side. Sourced from China, the goods face a 3% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 25% Section 301 surcharge, and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its hvac equipment, an effective 38% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. From Mexico, the entry is assessed a 3% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its hvac equipment, an effective 13% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. The decisive layer is Section 301: a 25% surcharge that applies only to China-origin goods and sits on top of every other duty, which is why China routes run expensive across so many categories. The reciprocal Section 122 charge is the most volatile element of this comparison, set to expire and therefore worth modelling in both states. 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. That same per-dollar gap is about $6,594 on a $25,000 order and $26,375 on $100,000 of annual volume. At order level, $25,000 of goods carries roughly $6,594 more duty from China than from Mexico.
hvac equipment — Air conditioners (window/split), Heat pumps, Commercial chillers, and Refrigerators and similar goods — falls under HTS 8415, 8418, 8419. Demand for hvac equipment is broad and price-sensitive, which is exactly why a duty wedge of this size reshapes who can supply the US market competitively. China, in Asia-Pacific, ships the US mainly consumer electronics, computers servers, and clothing garments. China trades without a special US agreement, so column-1 rates and every surcharge apply to its hvac equipment in full. Mexico, in North America, ships the US mainly passenger vehicles, auto parts components, and consumer electronics. Through USMCA, qualifying Mexico hvac equipment enters duty-free, collapsing the special-tariff layer to nothing. Moving between Asia-Pacific and North America changes more than duty, so treat the tariff saving as one input among several. Mexico is surfaced as a credible alternative, not just the cheapest line — it is among the origins a US buyer of hvac equipment could realistically qualify. Sourcing diversification has shifted from resilience theatre to margin necessity, and a documented second source like Mexico is how buyers act on it.
Where Mexico 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 Mexico is smaller than the duty saving, the switch still wins on net landed cost. Before acting, confirm the Mexico 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 hvac 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 Mexico saves an estimated $26,375 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 38% to 13%. 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 hvac equipment is assessed a 3% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, for an effective 13% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
China carries an effective 38% rate versus 13% 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.
