Sourcing comparison · Power Generation 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 →Few procurement levers move landed cost on power generation equipment as fast as switching country of origin. Goods from China clear at an effective 37.5%, while Mexico clears the same category at 12.5% — about $26,375 a year at $100,000 of imports. The importers who win this cycle are the ones treating country of origin as a number to optimise, not a given. The sections that follow show where every dollar of the difference comes from.
Here is how US Customs builds the bill for each origin. Shipped out of China, the product is hit with a 2.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty, a 25% Section 301 surcharge, and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its power generation equipment, an effective 37.5% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. From Mexico, the entry is assessed a 2.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its power generation equipment, an effective 12.5% 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. A Section 122 reciprocal surcharge is also in play — a temporary balance-of-payments measure scheduled to lapse in mid-2026, so its weight on this comparison is time-limited. 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. Multiply across your volume and it is near $6,594 for $25,000 and about $26,375 for $100,000 a year. On a $25,000 purchase order that is about $6,594 of duty difference — the kind of figure that shows up directly in a quarter's gross margin.
Within HTS 8501, 8502, 8503, 8504, power generation equipment includes Large transformers, Diesel generators, Electric motors, and Power inverters. Demand for power generation 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's trade profile leans toward consumer electronics, computers servers, and clothing garments, and it sits in Asia-Pacific. China trades without a special US agreement, so column-1 rates and every surcharge apply to its power generation equipment in full. Mexico's trade profile leans toward passenger vehicles, auto parts components, and consumer electronics, and it sits in North America. Through USMCA, qualifying Mexico power generation equipment enters duty-free, collapsing the special-tariff layer to nothing. Spanning Asia-Pacific and North America, the two lanes differ in freight and transit, so weigh those against the duty saving. Mexico clears this category at a structurally lower rate than China, an edge that persists across order cycles rather than a spot-price blip. With the US running its highest average tariff in decades, concentrated exposure to one high-duty origin is now a measurable annual cost rather than an abstract risk.
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 power generation 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 37.5% to 12.5%. 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 power generation equipment is assessed a 2.5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, for an effective 12.5% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
China carries an effective 37.5% rate versus 12.5% 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.
