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China trade routes, destination by destination

The same goods, the same carton, the same factory — and a different cost model in every market. What changes is which value duty is charged on, which statutory levies sit around it, and what has to be certified before the container can move.

Seven trade routes, side by side

Freight figures are 2026 planning benchmarks for a 40ft HQ from South China. Duty basis is the customs value each country charges on — the single number that most changes a landed cost.

Trade route	Duty basis	Import tax	What decides the number	40ft HQ	Transit
China → UK	CIF	20% VAT	VAT timing (PVA), and 20% charged on the duty-paid value	~$2,850	32–40 days
China → Germany	CIF	19% VAT (recoverable)	19% recoverable — but only if the importer of record is EU-established	~$2,700	30–38 days
China → UAE	CIF	5% VAT	A flat 5% tariff, so the container size decides more than customs does	~$2,100	18–24 days
China → Nigeria	CIF	7.5% VAT	Duty is charged on the freight, and the freight is dear	~$4,200	32–42 days
China → Kenya	CIF	16% VAT	IDF + RDL on CIF, and a conformity certificate bought per shipment	~$3,900	25–32 days
China → Mexico	FOB	16% IVA (8% border region)	FOB basis: freight sits outside the customs value, but the tariff lines moved	~$3,100	22–28 days
China → United States	FOB	No federal import VAT	Section 301 sits on the HTS line; MPF is capped at $651.50	~$2,400	14–18 days

Two numbers deserve attention. The duty basis column separates the FOB markets (US, Mexico, Canada, South Africa) from the CIF markets (EU, UK, Australia, Japan, India, most of Africa): on a $3,000 freight line at 20% duty that difference is $600 per container. The import tax column separates the markets where VAT is recoverable — and therefore cash flow — from those where it is a permanent cost.

Pick your route

Each page costs a real 40ft container line by line, then explains the compliance that stops a shipment in that specific market.

CIF basis · 20% VAT

China → UK

UK Global Tariff on CIF; no China–UK FTA. 40ft HQ from ~$2,850, 32–40 days. Product compliance: UKCA / CE, SCPN for cosmetics.

Read the breakdown → CIF basis · 19% VAT (recoverable)

China → Germany

EU Common Customs Tariff on CIF. 40ft HQ from ~$2,700, 30–38 days. Product compliance: CE, EU RP, CPNP for cosmetics, LUCID.

Read the breakdown → CIF basis · 5% VAT

China → UAE

GCC common tariff 5% on CIF. 40ft HQ from ~$2,100, 18–24 days. Product compliance: ECAS / EQM, Montaji for cosmetics.

Read the breakdown → CIF basis · 7.5% VAT

China → Nigeria

ECOWAS CET 5/10/20/35% on CIF. 40ft HQ from ~$4,200, 32–42 days. Product compliance: SONCAP, Form M + PAAR, NAFDAC.

Read the breakdown → CIF basis · 16% VAT

China → Kenya

EAC CET 0/10/25/35% on CIF. 40ft HQ from ~$3,900, 25–32 days. Product compliance: KEBS PVoC CoC, PPB for cosmetics.

Read the breakdown → FOB basis · 16% IVA (8% border region)

China → Mexico

General import duty on FOB; 2025–26 increases. 40ft HQ from ~$3,100, 22–28 days. Product compliance: NOM, Padrón de Importadores.

Read the breakdown → FOB basis · No federal import VAT

China → United States

MFN + Section 301 on FOB. 40ft HQ from ~$2,400, 14–18 days. Product compliance: HTS classification, ISF filing.

Read the breakdown →

How to read a route

Every landed cost on this site is built from the same six layers, in the same order. What changes between countries is only three things:

1. The customs value

CIF markets charge duty on goods plus freight plus insurance; FOB markets exclude the international leg. Get this wrong and the error scales with your freight, which on a container is never small.

2. The statutory additions

Some markets add levies that a generic template does not know exist: Nigeria's CISS and ETLS, Kenya's IDF and RDL, Mexico's DTA, India's Social Welfare Surcharge, Brazil's AFRMM. Each is a percentage of a specific base — not always the goods value.

3. The recovery position

European, UK, GCC and most African import VAT is reclaimable by a registered business. Where it is not claimable — a DDP seller without a local registration, for example — it becomes the largest line in the cost stack.

If your destination is not on this list, the landed cost calculator already carries the customs model for 19 markets, including Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and five EU member states.