Sourcing comparison · Kitchen Appliances
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 | $5,275 |
| $250,000 | $26,375 |
| $1,000,000 | $105,500 |
Savings scale linearly with volume. Enter your exact figure to model it precisely.
Calculate your exact volume →If your kitchen appliances currently ships from Vietnam, the duty bill is worth a second look. Vietnam carries roughly 23% in duties and fees against 13% for Germany, a spread worth near $10,550 on $100,000 of annual volume. Origin is one of the few cost levers a US importer controls outright, and it has rarely mattered more. Each component of the two stacks is detailed below, alongside what it means for a real sourcing decision.
Both stacks share the same customs valuation, so the comparison is apples to apples. On the Vietnam side, Customs applies a 3% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 20% negotiated bilateral rate on its kitchen appliances, an effective 23% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Shipped out of Germany, the product is hit with a 3% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its kitchen appliances, an effective 13% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. The reciprocal Section 122 charge is the most volatile element of this comparison, set to expire and therefore worth modelling in both states. The Merchandise Processing Fee and Harbor Maintenance Fee are charged on customs value, not origin, so they sit at $49.74 on either stack and never contribute to the gap. Subtract one stack from the other and $1,055.00 per $10,000 shipment separates the two origins. Scaled up, expect near $2,637 per $25,000 order and around $10,550 once annual buying reaches $100,000. A buyer placing $25,000 orders sees about $2,637 of avoidable duty on each one.
The category, HTS 8509, 8516, takes in Coffee makers, Blenders, Microwaves, and Air fryers among other kitchen appliances. The US imports kitchen appliances at scale, so the origin mix for this category is unusually sensitive to tariff policy. Based in Asia-Pacific, Vietnam is best known to US importers for consumer electronics, clothing garments, and footwear. A bilateral deal swaps Vietnam's Section 122 surcharge for a negotiated rate, reshaping how its kitchen appliances stack is built. Based in Europe, Germany is best known to US importers for passenger vehicles, industrial machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Germany trades under the EU bilateral framework, which shapes the duties on its kitchen appliances. Different regions — Asia-Pacific versus Europe — mean shipping economics deserve a look beside the tariff math. A switch to Germany 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.
For $100,000 a year of kitchen appliances, the move from Vietnam to Germany is worth about $10,550, scaling to $5,275 at $50,000, $26,375 at $250,000, and $105,500 at $1,000,000. These are engine-computed stacks, not estimates: identical inputs on both sides except country of origin, so the gap is purely a duty result. 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. Treat the annual saving as the ceiling on switching cost: as long as moving to Germany costs less than that, the change is accretive. Request parallel quotes from your Vietnam incumbent and a vetted Germany source, then compare landed cost with the duty gap held constant. The saving is current today; given the pace of 2026 revisions, verify it again at contract signing. Run your own volume — and a post-Section-122 view — through 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 Vietnam to Germany saves an estimated $10,550 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 23% 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.
Germany-origin kitchen appliances 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).
Vietnam carries an effective 23% rate versus 13% for Germany. The gap comes from differences in the base, Section 122, Section 232 and bilateral rates that apply to each origin.
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.
