Origin strategy
A quoted FOB price is not what hits your books. We represent plants in both Taiwan and China, so we have no reason to defend one origin over the other - only a reason to get your landed number right.
What changed
Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs rose from 25% to 50% effective 4 June 2025. The more consequential change for component buyers was scope: the measures now reach derivative articles - stamped parts, fasteners and fabricated components - not only raw mill product.
The practical effect is that parts which were comfortably cheaper offshore in 2024 are not automatically cheaper now, and parts that were marginal may have moved either way depending on classification and origin. Anyone still quoting you a 2024 landed cost is quoting you fiction.
Taiwan carries materially lower tariff exposure than mainland China across the classifications that matter to us. On fasteners and other tariff-exposed derivative articles, that gap frequently decides the job on its own - Taiwanese fastener exports to the US have continued to grow through the change.
On tooling-heavy molded and assembled parts, the picture is different. China often still wins on total landed cost even with duty included, because the tooling and labour content dominates the metal content. That is a calculation, not an opinion, and it should be run per part.
Method
We show these as separate lines. If the duty assumption is wrong, you can see it and challenge it, rather than discovering it inside a single blended price.
Classification is a judgement, not a fact. We state the HTS classification we have assumed and the duty rate applied. Final classification and duty liability rest with the importer of record, and we recommend your customs broker confirms it before you build a program around the number.
How to use us on this
If you are buying fasteners or stamped derivative articles out of mainland China, a Taiwan-origin requote is usually the fastest saving available. Send the part number and current landed cost.
Tooling-heavy molded and assembled parts often still win from China on total landed cost. We will show you the full stack so the decision survives a finance review.
For parts where supply continuity matters more than the last few cents, we can quote the same part from both countries so you hold a qualified alternate before you need one.
We will come back with a like-for-like comparison showing FOB, freight, duty and Section 232 as separate lines.