Landed Cost Calculator for Custom Gift Boxes from China
Unit price, US import duty, customs fees and an index-based freight floor, per box. Tariff rates are checked against official US sources every month.
Tariffs verified on 2026-10-25 · See the US tariff stack and sources
| Line | Basis | Per box |
|---|
Not included: customs broker fees, China export and port charges, US terminal and delivery charges, cargo insurance, samples and one-time tooling. Customs value is taken as the EXW price paid for the goods.
How the numbers are built
| Line | Rate or input | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base duty, HTS 4819 | Free | USITC HTS 2026 Revision 21, Chapter 48 |
| Section 301, List 3 (9903.88.03) | 25% of customs value | USITC HTS 2026 Revision 21, Chapter 99, U.S. note 20(f) |
| Section 301, forced labor action (9903.05.31) | 12.5% of customs value, since July 24, 2026 | CBP CSMS #69326983, Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties (July 23, 2026) |
| Merchandise processing fee | 0.3464% of entry value, min $34.58, max $670.86 per formal entry | Federal Register 91 FR 48398, Customs User Fees for Fiscal Year 2027 (July 31, 2026) |
| Harbor maintenance fee (ocean only) | 0.125% of cargo value | 19 CFR 24.24, Harbor maintenance fee (eCFR) |
| Ocean freight floor | $8,007 (Los Angeles) or $10,166 (New York) per 40ft ÷ 67 m³ × box volume | Drewry World Container Index, assessment of October 22, 2026 |
| Air freight floor | $6.88/kg × volumetric weight (L×W×H cm ÷ 6,000) | Freightos weekly update, October 20, 2026 (Freightos Air Index) |
The full layer-by-layer table, including the duties that are no longer collected, is on the US tariff stack page. Freight index figures are spot benchmarks for port-to-port container or airport-to-airport cargo, not quotes.
Published unit prices used as defaults
| Box type | MOQ per size | ~500 pcs | ~1,000 pcs | ~5,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetic rigid box | 100 pcs | Quoted per project | Quoted per project | Quoted per project |
| Sliding drawer box | 100 pcs | $2.70 | $2.25 | $1.60 |
| Two-piece lid & base box | 100 pcs | $2.20 | $1.85 | $1.30 |
| Collapsible magnetic box (ships flat) | 300 pcs | $1.90 | $1.60 | $1.15 |
| Corrugated mailer box | 300 pcs | $0.85 | $0.68 | $0.45 |
| Luxury paper gift bag | 300 pcs | $0.65 | $0.52 | $0.36 |
Indicative EXW prices in USD for a 200 × 200 × 80 mm box with a printed art-paper wrap and no finishes, as published on gift box types compared. Finishes add about $0.20–$0.55 per unit at entry volume; see the price guide. Your final price is confirmed at quotation.
Questions
What is the import duty on custom gift boxes from China to the US?
For China-origin paper and paperboard boxes (HTS heading 4819) the base duty is Free, but two Section 301 layers apply: 25% (List 3, heading 9903.88.03) and 12.5% (forced labor action, heading 9903.05.31, in force since July 24, 2026). Together that is 37.5% of the customs value, plus the merchandise processing fee and, for ocean freight, the harbor maintenance fee. Verified on October 25, 2026.
Are the IEEPA tariffs still charged on packaging from China?
No. CBP stopped collecting all IEEPA duties for goods entered on or after February 24, 2026 (CSMS #67834313). The temporary Section 122 surcharge that followed expired at the close of July 23, 2026.
Is the freight figure in the calculator a quote?
No. It is a floor derived from public freight indices: the Drewry World Container Index spread over a fully packed 40ft container for ocean, and the Freightos Air Index applied to volumetric weight for air. Real shipments add origin and destination charges, customs brokerage and delivery, and part-container (LCL) loads cost more per cubic meter than a full container.
Which unit prices does the calculator use?
The published indicative EXW prices for a 200 x 200 x 80 mm box with a printed wrap and no finishes, at about 500, 1,000 and 5,000 pcs. Runs below about 500 pcs are quoted per project, so for 100 or 300 pcs enter the price from your quote. Magnetic rigid boxes are currently quoted per project at every quantity.
