Sourcing Signal

Adhesives and sealants: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import adhesives and sealants from? Mexico carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (2.29% uplift from $4.13/kg landed), China the highest (63.04%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source adhesives and sealants is Mexico, where duty (0.83%) plus freight (1.45%) add 2.29% to the pre-tariff price ($4.13/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 63.04% uplift, a 60.75-point spread across lanes.

How to read this

  • Each source country's rank comes from its own real effective duty and freight share (USITC DataWeb), combined as (1 + duty) x (1 + freight). Lower is a cheaper lane.
  • The dollar landed cost scales this family's average import unit price ($4.04/kg) by each lane's uplift, so lanes differ by their own duty and freight.
  • The FX tag is a short-window cost direction from the currency's recent drift, not a dollar recompute.

Every source country ranked, cheapest first

  • 1. Mexico: 2.29% loaded (duty 0.83%, freight 1.45%), $4.13/kg landed, MXN trending cheaper
  • 2. Canada: 2.56% loaded (duty 1.56%, freight 0.98%), $4.14/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 3. South Korea: 12.84% loaded (duty 8.33%, freight 4.16%), $4.56/kg landed
  • 4. United Kingdom: 15.34% loaded (duty 10.32%, freight 4.55%), $4.66/kg landed
  • 5. Germany: 16.07% loaded (duty 11.39%, freight 4.2%), $4.69/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 6. Estonia: 17.44% loaded (duty 12.26%, freight 4.61%), $4.74/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 7. Italy: 18.43% loaded (duty 10.64%, freight 7.04%), $4.78/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 8. France: 18.86% loaded (duty 13.09%, freight 5.1%), $4.8/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 9. Japan: 18.93% loaded (duty 10.86%, freight 7.28%), $4.8/kg landed, JPY trending flat
  • 10. China: 63.04% loaded (duty 50.38%, freight 8.42%), $6.59/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • Germany is the largest source at 23.7% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (1100) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import adhesives and sealants from? Mexico. Its effective duty of 0.83% and freight of 1.45% add 2.29% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $4.13/kg.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($4.04/kg) times each lane's duty-plus-freight uplift. Because the base price is the family average, lanes differ by their own real duty and freight from USITC DataWeb, so the ranking is genuine even though a per-country price is not yet published.
  • How concentrated is sourcing of adhesives and sealants? Germany is the largest source at 23.7% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (1100), this family is diversified. A concentrated map means fewer places to move volume if one lane's duty jumps.

About this data

  • A sourcing-comparison indicator, not a customs quote. Lane ranking uses each country's real effective duty and freight share from USITC DataWeb; a dollar landed cost, where shown, scales the family's average import unit price and does not price a specific shipment. FX is a short-window cost direction, not a currency recompute. Confirm classification and duty with a licensed broker before you buy.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.