What is the cheapest country to import steel bar, rod, and wire from?

Mexico. Its effective duty of 14.57% and freight of 2.57% add 17.51% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $1.01/kg.

How is the landed cost calculated?

Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($0.856/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 steel bar, rod, and wire?

Canada is the largest source at 19.8% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (840), this family is diversified. A concentrated map means fewer places to move volume if one lane's duty jumps.

Sourcing Signal

Steel bar, rod, and wire: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import steel bar, rod, and wire from? Mexico carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (17.51% uplift from $1.01/kg landed), China the highest (87.94%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

The cheapest place to source steel bar, rod, and wire is Mexico, where duty (14.57%) plus freight (2.57%) add 17.51% to the pre-tariff price ($1.01/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 87.94% uplift, a 70.43-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 ($0.856/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: 17.51% loaded (duty 14.57%, freight 2.57%), $1.01/kg landed, MXN trending cheaper
2. India: 19.24% loaded (duty 7.77%, freight 10.64%), $1.02/kg landed
3. Canada: 22.68% loaded (duty 19.8%, freight 2.4%), $1.05/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
4. Vietnam: 32.92% loaded (duty 17.47%, freight 13.15%), $1.14/kg landed
5. Egypt: 36.82% loaded (duty 32.58%, freight 3.2%), $1.17/kg landed
6. South Korea: 39.7% loaded (duty 25.4%, freight 11.4%), $1.2/kg landed
7. Germany: 42.21% loaded (duty 28.66%, freight 10.53%), $1.22/kg landed, EUR trending flat
8. Japan: 46.59% loaded (duty 28.35%, freight 14.21%), $1.25/kg landed, JPY trending flat
9. Turkey: 51.63% loaded (duty 37.77%, freight 10.06%), $1.3/kg landed
10. China: 87.94% loaded (duty 60.62%, freight 17.01%), $1.61/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

Canada is the largest source at 19.8% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (840) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest country to import steel bar, rod, and wire from? Mexico. Its effective duty of 14.57% and freight of 2.57% add 17.51% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $1.01/kg.
How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($0.856/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 steel bar, rod, and wire? Canada is the largest source at 19.8% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (840), 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.