A common assumption is that sourcing from one country is inherently cheaper on duty than another. In reality, import duty depends almost entirely on the product’s HS code and your destination country’s trade agreements and tariff schedule — not simply on whether goods came from Pakistan or China.
Why the country of origin matters, but not the way people assume
Many destination markets have preferential trade agreements or generalized system of preferences (GSP) arrangements that apply different duty rates to goods from different origin countries, even for the identical product category. This means the same item can carry a meaningfully different duty rate depending on where it was made — but the direction of that difference depends entirely on your destination market’s specific agreements, not on a general “cheaper country” assumption.
What actually determines your duty rate
- HS code classification. Get this wrong and you either overpay duty or risk a compliance issue if customs reclassifies it after the fact.
- Destination country’s tariff schedule for that specific HS code, which varies significantly by product category.
- Any applicable trade agreements or preference programs between the origin country and your destination market.
- Certificate of origin requirements — claiming a preferential rate usually requires proper documentation proving where goods were actually made and processed.
The real comparison buyers should make
Rather than assuming one country is duty-cheaper than the other in general, look up the specific HS code for your product against your destination market’s tariff schedule for both origin countries. The gap can be negligible for one product category and substantial for another — textiles, for instance, often carry different treatment than machinery or electronics under the same trade agreement.
Don’t let duty comparison override the actual sourcing decision
As covered in our piece on sourcing from Pakistan vs. China, the stronger factor is usually which country’s supply chain is actually built for your product category. A small duty difference rarely outweighs the cost of forcing a product into the wrong country’s manufacturing base. Get accurate landed-cost numbers for your specific product before the country decision, not instead of it.
How to actually find your duty rate
Start with the correct HS code for your product, not an approximate one — a code that’s close but wrong can produce a duty estimate that’s meaningfully off from what you’ll actually pay. Your destination country’s customs authority publishes a tariff schedule searchable by HS code, and most also publish details on any preferential trade agreements that apply to specific origin countries. Cross-check both, since the standard rate and the preferential rate for a given origin can differ substantially for the same product.
Landed cost is more than the duty rate alone. Freight, insurance, any applicable VAT or sales tax on import, and handling fees all stack on top of the product price and the duty itself. Buyers who compare only the headline duty percentage between two origin countries are often comparing an incomplete number — the full landed cost is what actually decides which country is cheaper for a specific order.
