Nearshoring vs offshoring: choosing where your product is made

The two models in brief

Neither is cheaper in general. The answer changes by product, because it depends on how much of the cost is labour, how heavy the goods are, and whether a Mexican factory can make the product so that it qualifies under USMCA.

Where US imports are moving

The shift is visible in the trade figures. US goods imports from China fell from $440,319.4 million in 2024^[2] to $308,651.9 million in 2025^[2], while imports from Mexico were $534,314.9 million in 2025^[1]. Those totals cover every industry, so they say where supply chains are moving, not where your product should be made.

Duty: the biggest difference on a quote

From July 24, 2026^[3] the United States added a new layer of Section 301 duties on goods from a long list of economies, in an action over each economy's failure to ban and enforce a ban on imports made with forced labor. The additional rate is 12.5%^[4] for goods of China, 12.5%^[5] for Vietnam and 10%^[6] for Mexico, each on top of the normal rate for the product. The tariff schedule says goods subject to the action shall also be subject to any additional duty provided for in this subchapter or in subchapter IV of chapter 99^[7], where "this subchapter" is the part of the tariff schedule that holds the action itself. That part is also where the earlier Section 301 duties on many Chinese products sit, so they stack.

Mexico has the exception that matters. The additional duty shall not apply to any products of Mexico entered free of duty under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement^[8]. The USMCA has been in force since July 1, 2020^[9], and claiming it needs a certification of origin^[9]. Qualifying goods skip a fee as well: the merchandise processing fee will not apply to goods originating within the meaning of General Note 11, HTSUS^[10].

The catch is the word "originating". Only goods that originate under the USMCA rules get that treatment, and a product assembled in Mexico from imported parts may not. Ask any Mexican supplier, before you compare prices, whether your product will qualify and whether it will provide the certification.

How to decide

1. Get quotes from both regions for the same specification and quantity. Ask each supplier for its rule and named place, so you can compare them landed.
2. Classify the product. The tariff line sets the normal duty, and it sets the USMCA rule of origin your Mexican quote has to meet.
3. Ask the Mexican supplier about origin. A quote that assumes USMCA treatment is only worth its duty saving if the goods qualify and the certification comes with them.
4. Work out the landed cost per unit for each. Add freight, the normal duty, every additional duty and the entry fees to each factory price.
5. Price the time. A shorter transit means less stock tied up in transit and faster reorders. Put a number on that for your cash cycle before you let a lower unit price decide.
6. Split if it pays. Some brands make their fast sellers near home and their long-running basics far away.

Example: the same product from three countries

1,000 units landed in the US from China, Vietnam and Mexico

Line	China	Vietnam	Mexico, USMCA qualifying
Factory price per unit	$6.00	$6.60	$7.40
Goods	$6,000	$6,600	$7,400
Freight to your warehouse	$900	$1,000	$450
Normal duty at 6% (assumed)	$360	$396	$0
Earlier Section 301 duty at 7.5% (assumed)	$450	$0	$0
Newest Section 301 duty, 12.5%[4] / 12.5%[5] / none	$750	$825	$0
Entry fees and broker	$250	$250	$180
Landed cost	$8,710	$9,071	$8,030
Landed cost per unit	$8.71	$9.07	$8.03
Weeks door to door	6	6	1

In this example the Mexican factory is the most expensive at the factory gate and the cheapest landed, because the duty saving is larger than the price gap. If the Mexican goods did not qualify under USMCA, the normal duty and the additional 10%^[6] would add at least $1,184 and the order would land at $9.21 a unit or more, the dearest of the three.

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

Quotes from either side of the ocean

Send us your specification and quantity, and say which regions you want compared. We introduce you to manufacturers that fit, in Asia, in Mexico or both, each one named, and tell you where none does. It is free for brands. Each manufacturer quotes you directly; ask each manufacturer to state its rule and named place on the quote, so it drops straight into the landed comparison above next to any other quotes you hold.