Mexico vs China Metal Parts: Landed Cost and Section 232 in 2026

Say you buy a machined steel bracket that your broker classifies as a steel derivative on Annex I-B of the Section 232 list. A hypothetical part. Its landed cost per piece is:

unit price + packing + freight + insurance + duties and fees + inventory cost

Compare that total, never the ex-works price. The cheapest unit price most likely leaves a line out.

Fill in the lines you control

Unit price, packing, freight and insurance come from your quotes, and we won't print sample prices, since any figure we made up would be wrong for your part. Honest numbers come from your own quotes.

The last line is where the columns split. A Chinese part travels by sea, so you finance the stock on the water plus the safety stock that covers a long pipeline, while a Mexican part crosses by truck. Price both with your own cost of money.

The duty line per $100 of customs value, as of November 12, 2026

Since April 6, 2026, Section 232 applies to the full customs value of the product, regardless of metal content: 25% for derivatives on Annex I-B and 50% for the articles and derivatives on Annex I-A. Call the bracket's normal duty rate M.

From China: $M, plus $25 under Section 232, plus any Section 301 duty on the code (25% for products under heading 9903.88.03). Ask your broker how they combine.

From Mexico, with a USMCA-qualifying part made from steel poured outside the US, the normal duty is zero. Section 232 still costs $25. CBP: "Section 232 duties may not be waived due to a Free Trade Agreement."

From Mexico, with at least 85% of the steel by weight melted and poured in the US, Section 232 falls to $10.

Full duty walk-through: our border duties article.

The trap: Chinese steel in a Mexican part

Section 232 follows where the metal was made, not where the part was machined. CBP requires importers to report the country of melt and pour for steel and the country of smelt and cast for aluminum. A Mexican shop machining bar stock poured in China, or anywhere outside the US, ships a part that still pays the full rate.

Ask for it in the RFQ: "Indique el país donde se fundió y vació el acero y anexe el certificado de molino." A quote without the mill country isn't finished.

What changes the result

The annex is the biggest switch: 50% instead of 25% doubles the Section 232 line. Then volume: small lots carry more freight per piece. Then transit time. Our metal fabrication article covers picking a shop; this checklist covers the switch itself.

Send us a metal part you buy today in China or the US, and our free price check puts the Mexican quotes on the same landed-cost lines as your current source, so you compare one total with another.

FAQ

Does the 10% Section 301 duty on Mexican goods apply?

Not to this bracket. The Section 301 forced-labor duties in force since July 24, 2026 (10% for Mexico, 12.5% for China) exclude steel and aluminum articles and derivatives, and Mexican goods entered duty-free under USMCA.

Is the 10% rate available for aluminum?

Yes, when the aluminum was smelted and cast in the US, with the same 85% by weight test.

What about the IEEPA tariffs?

The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, that IEEPA doesn't authorize tariffs. We leave them out of a new calculation. CBP runs refunds for IEEPA duties already paid.