The number a factory quotes you — the FOB price — is not what your materials cost. It's usually 60–75% of the real landed cost. The rest arrives as freight, insurance, duty and import tax, and buyers who plan on the FOB figure get an unwelcome surprise at the port. Here's the whole stack, with worked examples, so there are no surprises.

The five layers of a landed cost

  1. FOB (goods on the vessel). The factory price, goods loaded at a Vietnamese port.
  2. Sea freight. Per 20ft container to your port — the biggest variable. In 2026 rates are soft but move weekly (see the freight brief).
  3. Marine insurance. Small — roughly 0.3% of CIF — but standard.
  4. Import duty. The big lever, set by origin + destination (below).
  5. Import VAT / GST. Charged on CIF + duty in most markets (the US has no federal VAT; states apply sales tax separately).

A worked example

Take a $20,000 FOB container of porcelain tile. Approximate landed cost, by destination, using the tariff position each market gives Vietnamese origin:

  • Australia (AANZFTA 0% duty): FOB $20,000 + freight ~$1,900 + insurance ~$66 = CIF $21,966; duty $0; GST 10% on CIF ≈ $2,197 → **$24,160 landed.**
  • EU (EVFTA 0% duty): FOB $20,000 + freight ~$3,400 + insurance ~$70 = CIF $23,470; duty $0; VAT is recoverable for a registered business → **$23,470 before recoverable VAT.**
  • US (MFN, no FTA): FOB $20,000 + freight ~$3,200 + insurance ~$70 = CIF ~$23,270; MFN duty applies, plus the framework's reciprocal rate — but the same tile from China would add Section 301 + anti-dumping on top, which is the whole China-vs-Vietnam case.

These are illustrative — your exact HS code, product and current rates decide the real figure. The landed-cost estimator runs your own numbers across destinations and shows Vietnam vs China side by side.

Where the duty number comes from

Import duty is the layer that swings most, and it's set by two things:

  • Origin. Vietnamese origin gets 0% into the EU, UK, Australia, NZ, Japan, Korea and Singapore under Vietnam's FTA network — provided a correct certificate of origin (EUR.1/REX etc.) accompanies the goods. Chinese origin gets none of that and, in the US, carries Section 301 plus anti-dumping on several building-material lines.
  • Destination + HS code. Each country sets its own rate per product code; get the code right and the duty follows.

This is why "cheaper FOB from China" is frequently dearer landed — the duty delta more than eats the price difference.

The two savings you actually control

Most of the stack is arithmetic, but two levers are yours:

  1. Consolidate. Sharing one container across several material groups cuts freight per unit — the single biggest controllable saving.
  2. Get origin right. A correct certificate of origin is what unlocks the 0% preferential rate. Missing or wrong paperwork means paying full duty on goods that qualified for zero.

Sources & data notes

Freight, insurance (~0.3% of CIF), duty and tax figures are indicative planning estimates; the worked examples use typical 2026 spot freight and standard VAT/GST rates. Actual landed cost depends on the exact HS code, product, current duty and anti-dumping/countervailing measures, and satisfaction of rules of origin. Confirm every figure with a licensed customs broker before commercial use. Not tax or customs advice.

Want your real landed number, not an FOB guess? Send us one BOM and we return a duty-aware proposal — freight quoted live, origin paperwork prepared — within 48 hours. Our own fiber-cement line, DURAGREEN®, is priced the same way.