Tariff-Proof Your Sourcing — The 5-Step Landed Cost Method
US tariffs on apparel imported from China now stack to 41.5%–61% depending on category, with cotton knits clearing 50% (makemine.com, Guide to Tariffs on Clothing From China 2026, July 2026), layered on top of Section 301 duties averaging 34% (One Aim Apparel, May 2026). If you haven't recalculated landed cost since 2024, your margin math is outdated. The fix is a five-step landed cost method that turns vague quotes into comparable numbers.
8/17/20262 min read
Why your old math is broken
For years, buyers priced by "cost + 20%" and it worked. Tariff policy has changed that in two ways: the stacked duty rate changed the cost line, and it changed how suppliers quote — some quote FOB, some quote DDP, and the two are no longer trivially comparable. Chinese apparel exports to the US fell 10.6% in the first ten months of 2025 (shenglufashion, January 2026), which tells you the market is already repricing.
The 5-step landed cost method
Run this for every quote, on the same basis, before you negotiate:
FOB unit price — the factory-gate price. Ask for the line-by-line breakdown: fabric, labor, trims, margin.
+ Ocean freight per unit — container rate ÷ units per container, or a per-unit quote.
+ Insurance — typically a small percentage of value; don't skip it, it's part of the cost basis.
+ Tariff — look up the exact HTS code for your product, not an approximation. Rates differ sharply between codes.
= Landed cost — compare suppliers on this number, using the SAME HTS code and freight basis.
FOB vs DDP — the decision rule
FOB (you buy at factory): you control freight, you know your tariff bill, and you can negotiate logistics. Higher effort, higher transparency.
DDP (delivered duty paid): the supplier absorbs delivery risk — but the tariff usually lands inside your price anyway, and you can't see it.
The rule of thumb: if a supplier can't show FOB line by line, you're pricing on guesswork — and guesswork is the most expensive line item in sourcing.
What a transparent quote looks like
A quote you can actually work with shows: fabric cost per unit, labor, trims, packaging, margin, and the HTS code used for the tariff line. That's the difference between a number and a cost model.
At Century Beauty, we quote transparent FOB with a written line-by-line cost breakdown — fabric, labor, trims, margin — so your landed cost math is real, not estimated. We'll happily walk a buyer through our breakdown line by line; that's how we win comparison tables.
FAQ
Q: Where do I find the correct HTS code? A: Use the US HTS search tool (hts.usitc.gov) with your product's material and construction details. The code determines the duty rate — the few minutes of lookup can change your margin by percentage points.
Q: Does DDP ever make sense? A: Yes, for low-volume or first orders where you want delivery certainty. Just remember the tariff is in the price — compare DDP quotes against FOB + your own landed cost calculation.
Q: Will tariffs keep rising? A: Policy changes are hard to predict; what's predictable is that landed-cost discipline protects you either way. Run the 5 steps on every quote, every season.
Related reading：EU Digital Product Passports for Textiles — A Supplier Readiness Checklist · 5 Fabric Checks to Run Before You Place Your Bulk Order
