US tariffs on electronics from China, Korea, Vietnam and Mexico (October 2026): how to work out your duty

Rates as of October 28, 2026. US tariffs have changed often since 2025, and this is general information, not legal advice. Before you rely on a rate, confirm your product's classification and origin with a licensed customs broker, or ask US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for a binding ruling.

As of October 28, 2026, a typical small electronic gadget classified as "other electrical apparatus" (HTS 8543.70) pays about 40% US duty if it is made in China, 12.5% if it is made in Korea, about 15% from Vietnam, and 0% if it is made in Mexico, not just assembled there, and qualifies under USMCA, the trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada. Final assembly alone in another country usually doesn't change where a product is from; assembling the boards, molding the case and building the product there often does.

US duty is worked out in three steps: classify the product (its HTS code, the 10-digit code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule), decide its country of origin, then add up the duties for that code and that origin. In October 2026, those are a base duty (the normal, or MFN, rate), plus, for goods of Chinese origin, the 2018–2019 Section 301 tariffs on China, plus the Section 301 "forced-labor" tariffs that took effect on July 24, 2026 for 60 economies, including China, Vietnam, Korea and Mexico. Section 301 is the trade law that lets the US Trade Representative put tariffs on a country's goods. The code follows what the product does, and it can move the answer as much as the country can.

In short:

Moving only final assembly out of China rarely saves anything.
Moving board assembly and molding as well cuts the duty on a typical gadget by about 28 points, but on a run of 1,000 a factory price 20% higher takes back most of the saving.
Only a product genuinely made in Mexico and qualifying under USMCA gets close to zero.

How is US duty calculated?

Duty is the customs value of the goods times the sum of the rates that apply. The customs value is usually the price paid, without international freight and insurance, plus what customs calls "assists": what you paid for molds, fixtures and engineering done outside the US, and the value of any parts you sent the factory, as covered in What's actually in a production quote.

On top of duty, every formal entry pays a merchandise processing fee (0.3464% of the value from October 1, 2026, with a minimum of $34.58 and a maximum of $670.86 per entry), and ocean shipments pay a harbor maintenance fee of 0.125%. Goods that qualify under USMCA are generally exempt from the processing fee, and truck entries from Mexico don't pay the harbor fee. A shipment worth more than $2,500 needs a formal entry and a customs bond. The $800 small-parcel exemption (de minimis) has been suspended since August 29, 2025, and is set to end by law on July 1, 2027, so samples and spare parts need an entry and pay any duty owed.

Which duties apply in October 2026?

Duty by origin, as of October 28, 2026.

Origin	Typical gadget (HTS 8543.70)	Data-transmission device (HTS 8517.62), where the line is exempt from the July 2026 tariffs
China	About 40% (2.6% base + 25% from the 2018–2019 tariffs + 12.5% from the July 2026 tariffs)	Often 7.5% (2018–2019 tariffs only)
Korea, made there	12.5% (the base duty and the July 2026 tariff together)	0%
Vietnam	About 15% (2.6% base + 12.5%)	0%
Mexico, made there and qualifying under USMCA	0%	0%
Mexico, not qualifying	About 12.6% (2.6% base + 10%)	0%

Check the 10-digit line. Not every 8517.62 line is on the 7.5% list, and not every line is exempt from the July 2026 tariffs; where a line isn't exempt, those tariffs apply to it too.

The layers, as of October 28, 2026:

The base duty (MFN rate), the normal rate for the HTS code. For small electronic devices it is often between 0 and 5%.
The 2018–2019 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods. Mostly 25% or 7.5%, depending on which list the code is on. Some parts a hardware team buys pay more after the 2024 review: 50% on semiconductors, and 25% on lithium-ion batteries (other than for electric vehicles) and on permanent magnets in 2026.
The Section 301 forced-labor tariffs, in force since July 24, 2026 for 60 economies. China and Vietnam pay an extra 12.5%. Mexico pays 10%, except on goods that enter duty-free under USMCA. For Korea, Japan and Switzerland, this tariff tops the base duty up to 12.5% in total, and adds nothing if the base duty is already 12.5% or more; a Korean product that also qualifies under the US–Korea trade agreement may pay a little less. Some lines are exempt, including semiconductors, goods already under Section 232 duties, and some electronics lines.
Section 232 duties, mostly 25% to 50% (15% for some equipment through 2027), on listed steel, aluminum and copper goods and their derivatives. Since April 6, 2026, they have been charged on the full value of the goods, and many derivatives outside the metal chapters of the tariff schedule are covered only if they are more than 15% metal by weight. Certain advanced chips also carry Section 232 duties. A plastic-bodied gadget usually isn't affected, but check a metal-cased product. Goods under Section 232 skip the forced-labor tariffs but still pay China's 2018–2019 tariffs.

Are the 2025 "reciprocal" tariffs still in effect?

No. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump that the emergency-powers law (IEEPA) doesn't authorize tariffs. That ended the extra tariffs imposed under it in 2025: the "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries (Korea's former 15%, for example), and separate emergency tariffs on nearly all goods from China, electronics included, and on goods from Mexico and Canada that didn't qualify under USMCA. A temporary 10% global surcharge under Section 122 ran from February 24 to July 24, 2026, then expired.

As of October 28, 2026, any rate that still includes a 2025 emergency tariff or the 10% Section 122 surcharge is out of date. Many calculators and articles still show them. Refunds of the IEEPA duties go to the importer of record, or to a party it names to CBP; if you imported goods between February 2025 and February 2026, ask your broker about the refund process.

Why can the tariff code matter as much as the country?

Two similar devices can owe very different duty from China: about 40% as "other electrical apparatus" (HTS 8543.70), or often 7.5% if the device's main job is sending and receiving data (HTS 8517.62), as many Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices do. The code follows what the product does; the importer doesn't choose it. Have a customs broker classify the product, or ask CBP for a binding ruling before you ship.

How is country of origin decided for US tariffs?

Substantial transformation decides the ordinary (non-preferential) origin: whether the work done in a country gave the product a new name, character or use. This test decides China's 2018–2019 tariffs and the forced-labor tariffs, and, for most countries, the "Made in" marking. There's no formula; CBP weighs each case.
Free trade agreements, such as USMCA and the US–Korea agreement, have origin rules of their own. Meeting them can remove the base duty, but it doesn't change the origin used for China's tariffs, so a product can qualify for a trade agreement on paper and still pay China's tariffs.
Goods from Mexico and Canada are marked under a separate set of CBP rules (19 CFR Part 102), which can give a different answer from the substantial-transformation test.

What USMCA is. USMCA, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, replaced NAFTA in 2020 and remains in force, though it's now reviewed every year. A product qualifies when enough of it is made in North America to meet the agreement's rule of origin for its tariff code, usually a change in tariff code from the foreign parts to the finished product, sometimes a minimum share of value from the region, and the importer holds a certification of origin and the records behind it. Qualifying goods enter with no base duty and are exempt from the 10% forced-labor tariff on Mexican goods. Qualifying doesn't change the origin used for China's tariffs, though: Chinese-made boards assembled in Mexico can still owe them.

Does assembling in Mexico, Korea or Vietnam change a product's origin? What CBP rulings show

CBP publishes its origin rulings in its CROSS database (rulings.cbp.gov). Five on electronics show the pattern:

Packing only (H325450, 2022). A stud finder built in China and only packed in Mexico stayed Chinese.
Board and final assembly, but Chinese core assemblies (H304677, 2023). A printer whose main board was assembled, programmed and built into the product in Mexico stayed Chinese, because the assemblies that did the printing came from China.
Finished subassemblies aren't enough (H287548, 2018). In a government procurement ruling, which uses the same substantial-transformation test, printers assembled in the US from fully assembled subassemblies made in Japan and Vietnam, including a main board assembled in Japan with firmware developed there, were Japanese; the US assembly and the firmware download didn't change that.
Real manufacturing (H311447, 2020). A smart oven whose boards were assembled, plastic parts molded, metal parts stamped and the product built in Vietnam was Vietnamese, even though most materials came from China.
Battery packs (H316389, 2021). A battery pack took the origin of its cells, as CBP usually finds.

What usually decides it: where the boards are assembled (surface-mount assembly), where the parts that do the product's main job come from, and how much and how complex the work in the country is. Where the firmware was developed can matter; loading it in another country doesn't, and neither do packing or screwing parts together. A ruling binds CBP only for the transaction it describes, so a ruling for someone else's product is a guide, not a promise about yours.

Is it cheaper to make it in Korea or Mexico than in China? A worked example

This is an illustration, not a customer project. The duty rates are as of October 28, 2026 and assume the product is classified under HTS 8543.70; the factory prices and freight costs are made up.

A team is making 1,000 units of a small device. The chips, the display and the battery come from China, and the factory price of $40 a unit includes them. Freight and insurance come to $2,000, and the broker, bond and inland delivery to $800.

Made in China: about 40% duty, $16,040, plus about $190 in fees. Landed, about $59 a unit.
Korea, screwdriver assembly only. The assembled boards and the molded case arrive from China; the Korean factory screws them together, loads firmware, tests and packs. The origin is very likely still China: about 40% duty, and the box has to say "Made in China". A trade agreement claim, if the product met its rules, would remove only the 2.6% base duty, and "Made in Korea" would be a false marking.
Korea, real manufacturing. The bare boards are assembled with the Chinese chips in Korea, the case is molded there (the mold itself can be cut in China), and final assembly, firmware, test and inspection happen there. The origin is likely Korea: 12.5% duty, $5,000, and about $48 a unit landed. If the Korean factory's price is 20% higher, $48 a unit, the landed cost rises to about $57, close to China's $59.
What that adds up to. Over 1,000 units, real manufacturing in Korea saves about $11,000 at the same factory price, but only about $2,000 at a price 20% higher, less than a new set of molds or a pilot run usually costs. Moving pays off over larger or repeat runs, or in a first production run, when the molds and the pilot run have to be paid for wherever you build.
Mexico, screwdriver assembly only. Likely still Chinese for China's tariffs, so about 40%. Goods from Mexico are marked under separate rules, so the box may correctly say Mexico while China's tariffs are still paid; that isn't a way around them.
Mexico, real manufacturing. Likely Mexican, and if it qualifies under USMCA, close to 0% duty: about $43 a unit landed at the same factory price and freight, or about $51 at a price 20% higher. That's the lowest duty of these options, but not necessarily the lowest landed cost. Mexico's electronics factories mostly serve large programs, so a 1,000-unit run that includes board assembly and molding is hard to place; molds usually come from China or the US; factory prices are often well above China's; and since January 2026 Mexico has charged higher duties of its own on many imports from countries without a trade agreement with it, China included. A program such as IMMEX only defers that duty; parts in goods shipped on to the US can still owe it, unless a program such as PROSEC lowers the rate.
Built in the US. No duty on the finished product, but the Chinese chips, display and battery pay China's tariffs when they're imported, at their own codes' rates, and those for chips and lithium-ion batteries are among the higher ones.

If the team also paid $15,000 for molds, that's added to the customs value once: about $6,000 more duty from China, or about $1,900 from Korea.

What can change the answer: where the boards are assembled; whether a bought-in module does the product's main job, such as a Chinese display module in a product that is mostly a display, or a ready-made Wi-Fi or Bluetooth module in a connected device (designing that module out means new FCC certification); the outcome of open investigations; and CBP's own ruling, which you can ask for before you ship.

"Made in …": the marking rules

Imported products and their packaging must show the country of origin in English, legibly and in a place where it won't easily come off. For most countries, the origin is the one from the substantial-transformation test; goods from Mexico and Canada follow their own marking rules. If another place name appears on the product, such as "Designed in California", the country of origin has to appear close to it, in letters at least as large. A Chinese-origin product can't be marked only "Assembled in Korea". Missing or wrong marking can hold a shipment and add a marking duty.

Who pays the tariff, and who is responsible?

The importer of record is legally responsible for declaring the classification, value and origin correctly, paying the duty and keeping records for five years, whatever the contract says. Delivery terms decide who bears the cost, not who the importer is:

Ex-works or FOB: you're normally the importer of record, with your customs broker filing the entry for you under a power of attorney.
Delivered duty paid (DDP): the supplier, or its agent, acts as importer. A June 3, 2026 executive order (EO 14411) told CBP to tighten the rules for foreign companies acting as importer of record, such as requiring membership in CTPAT (CBP's supply-chain security program) or a CTPAT-member broker; CBP is phasing these rules in. With a DDP quote, ask who will be importer of record and for a copy of the entry summary (CBP Form 7501). Refunds, such as those for the IEEPA duties, go to the importer of record.

If this is your first import

An importer number and a power of attorney. You register with CBP (Form 5106) and sign a power of attorney so your broker can file for you.
A customs bond. A continuous bond is usually sized to about 10% of a year's duties, with a $50,000 minimum, so high duty rates raise it.
An ISF filing for ocean shipments, at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded at the foreign port.
Other agencies' rules. FCC authorization for a radio device, consumer product safety certificates where they apply, and lithium battery shipping rules (UN 38.3).
Supply-chain records. Electronics with Chinese parts can be detained under the forced-labor import law (UFLPA) until the importer shows where the parts came from.

What could change US tariffs next? (as of October 28, 2026)

A Section 301 investigation into "excess manufacturing capacity", opened in March 2026, covers 16 economies, including China, Korea, Mexico and Vietnam. Any duties from it could add to today's.
178 China Section 301 product exclusions are due to expire on November 10, 2026, unless extended.
USMCA wasn't extended at its July 1, 2026 joint review. It remains in force, but is now reviewed every year.

Moving production out of China: what actually changes your duty?

Duty follows the origin, not the port. Shipping from another country, or doing only final assembly there, rarely changes the origin. The board assembly and the parts that do the product's main job usually have to move too.
Check the tariff code first. If the product falls under a line where Chinese goods pay 7.5%, moving may save less than it costs.
Compare landed cost per unit, not duty rates. A factory price 10 to 20% higher, longer freight or new tooling can cancel the duty saving, as in the example above.
Count the cost and time of moving. New molds, or getting the old ones released and trialed again at the new molder; a molder in China may stall on releasing tools unless the contract says who owns them and they're paid off. New stencils, test fixtures and programming jigs; golden samples, a pilot run and first-article inspection; lower yields while a new line settles in. If the product carries a UL or ETL mark, the new factory has to be added after an inspection. FCC authorization stays with the product if the design doesn't change. Keep buying a battery pack from the same maker, since a pack usually takes the origin of its cells, and a changed pack can need a new UN 38.3 test. For a simple device, plan on three to six months, and keep the old factory running until the new one ships good units.
Check that your parts list travels. A design built around parts that Chinese assemblers stock may use parts a Korean or Mexican assembler can't buy. You can supply them yourself, and declare their value, or approve substitutes and retest. Bare circuit boards usually still come from China, and that's normal.
Keep proof of where each step happened. Some suppliers abroad quietly have boards assembled in China, or repack Chinese goods, and the importer carries the risk. Ask for purchase records for bare boards and parts, board-assembly and molding production records and photos of the line, check whether the factory assembles boards itself or names its subcontractor, and visit before the first run.
Expect the rules to keep changing. The excess-capacity investigation covers most of the usual alternatives, including Korea, Mexico and Vietnam.
Only a qualifying trade agreement, or a duty-free line, gets close to zero. Today that means, for a typical gadget, a product genuinely made in Mexico that qualifies under USMCA.
Get a binding ruling before you commit. CBP rules on origin for free, before you import; a ruling from CBP's New York office often takes about a month, and one referred to headquarters can take several months, so build that into the schedule.

What to ask your customs broker

Which HTS code applies to the product, and is it worth asking CBP for a binding ruling?
Given where each step happens, what's the likely country of origin?
Which duties apply to that code and origin today, and which pending actions could change them?
Does the product qualify under a trade agreement such as USMCA, and what records will prove it?
How should payments for molds, fixtures and engineering, and any parts you send the factory, be declared?
What has to be marked on the product and the packaging?
Who should be importer of record, and what bond do you need?

Where we come in

This is one of the situations Anamor takes on. When we price a run, we work out where each step happens, because that decides the product's origin and its duty. Our quotes name the country the product is made in and the duty rate they assume, with the date we checked it. Our partner factories are in the US and overseas; if your numbers point to a country we don't work in, we'll tell you plainly. We don't give legal advice; confirm classification and origin with a licensed customs broker.

Anamor takes US hardware teams with a working prototype into their first production run: we redesign the product for production, line up partner factories and suppliers in the US and overseas, price it at your quantities, and run the build through to shipping.

Send what you have: photos of the prototype, CAD if you have it, the parts list, any factory quotes you already have, and how many you plan to make. Need an NDA? We'll send our mutual NDA, or review yours, before you send files. Within two business days, a real person on our team will reply with a free first look at your production run and a few times to talk.

Sources

CBP rulings: H325450, H304677, H287548, H311447, H316389
USTR, action in the forced-labor Section 301 investigations (July 23, 2026)
Federal Register, indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption (June 24, 2026)
Federal Register, initiation of the excess-capacity Section 301 investigations (March 17, 2026)
USITC, Harmonized Tariff Schedule, including General Note 11 (USMCA rules of origin)

Frequently asked questions

How is US import duty calculated on electronics?

Duty is the customs value of the goods, usually the price paid to the factory plus any molds or other assists you paid for, but not international freight, times the rates for the product's tariff code (HTS) and country of origin. Several layers can stack, such as the base rate and the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China.

What is the US tariff on electronics made in Korea in 2026?

As of October 28, 2026, most electronics made in Korea pay 12.5% in total, because the forced-labor Section 301 tariff tops the base duty up to 12.5%; a product that qualifies under the US–Korea trade agreement may pay a little less. The work in Korea has to make it a Korean product, not just a final assembly of Chinese parts.

Does assembling Chinese parts in Mexico or Korea avoid China tariffs?

Not by itself. For US tariffs, origin is where a product is substantially transformed. CBP rulings show that putting finished subassemblies together doesn't change origin, while assembling the main circuit boards and doing complex work in the country can. Goods from Mexico also follow separate marking and USMCA rules, which can give a different answer.