Landed Cost Guide: Importing Lithium-Ion Batteries (HS 8507.60)
Same batteries, same supplier, two destinations: 3.4% duty into the US; 7% duty plus GST into Canada — before freight, and before the US additional-duty question.
Lithium-ion accumulators — cells, packs and power banks — are classified in HS 8507.60 in every customs territory we work with. (If you are unsure whether your product is really an 8507.60 battery or something else, start with the HS Code Finder: a battery inside a finished device is usually classified with the device, not here.) Batteries are the shipment where importers get surprised twice: once by the duty, and once by the transport rules. This guide covers both — and ends with the three numbers that set the cost of your own shipment.
The duty and tax picture: United States and Canada
| Destination | Duty (general / MFN) | Import tax |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3.4% | No federal import sales tax (0%) |
| Canada | 7% (principal line 8507.60.90) | GST 5% on the duty-paid value |
Both rates are the general (MFN) rates from the official tariff schedules, as verified in our reference set in October 2026. Read the warning below before using the US figure for a real order.
⚠ Important — US additional duties on Chinese-origin goods
The 3.4% above is the general (MFN) rate for HS 8507.60. It is not necessarily the whole story for goods made in China. The United States applies additional duties to many Chinese-origin products under Section 301 and related measures, recorded in Chapter 99 of the US tariff schedule. Where they apply to your exact product, those duties are charged on top of the 3.4% — and they change as measures are added, adjusted or expire.
We deliberately do not print a single "China rate" for batteries, because there is no one figure that is safe to rely on. Before pricing a China-origin battery order for the US, have the additional-duty position checked against your exact national line: our tariff checker flags Chapter 99 exposure, and a licensed customs broker can confirm the position in writing. Any landed-cost figure you build from this guide uses the 3.4% general rate only — treat US totals as a floor, not a ceiling. The warning applies identically to both transport modes.
Get your three numbers
Your landed cost is only as real as the numbers inside it — and there are three, gathered in this order:
- 1 · Your supplier price — the goods value from an actual quote. No quote yet? Request compared supplier quotes first.
- 2 · Your tariff rate — the duty for your HS code and destination, from the Tariff Checker, where the rate is verified rather than guessed.
- 3 · Your freight cost — ocean or air, estimated with the Freight Estimator from dated published benchmarks.
Or let us put the three together for your shipment: send us the product, and we reply with compared supplier quotes, the verified duty and the freight picture in one written answer — within one business day, per our promise on the quote page.
The air problem: standalone lithium batteries are restricted cargo
Air freight for this product always carries a condition — "if accepted" — because the freight rate is not the hard part: permission is. Standalone lithium batteries (UN3480 — batteries shipped on their own, not packed inside equipment) are forbidden on passenger aircraft and move, where they move at all, on cargo aircraft only. Under IATA rules they must travel at a state of charge of no more than 30%, supported by a UN38.3 test summary, dangerous-goods documentation and compliant packaging. And carrier acceptance varies: many airlines and forwarders decline standalone battery shipments entirely, or accept them only on specific routes and preparations. Batteries packed with or inside equipment (UN3481) face fewer restrictions — a bulk order of standalone cells or packs is exactly the hard case.
Ocean is not paperwork-free either: lithium batteries are dangerous goods under the IMDG Code at sea, so documentation, packaging and carrier acceptance apply there too. But ocean carriage of compliant battery shipments is routine in a way air carriage is not. For standalone lithium batteries, plan on ocean as the default and treat air as an exception to be confirmed carrier by carrier — never as the baseline your margin depends on.
What the destination does to the order
Set freight aside and compare the border charges alone, per US$100 of goods. Into the US: US$3.40 of duty (before any additional duties). Into Canada: US$7.00 of duty, then 5% GST charged on the duty-paid value — US$5.35 more — for US$12.35 of border charges per US$100 of goods, before a single kilometre of freight. Same product, same supplier, same container: the destination choice alone multiplies the border bill by more than three and a half. And as in our HS 8536.90 guide, the transport mode never changes the duty — 3.4% or 7% applies identically by ship or by plane; the mode changes only the freight cost and the speed. Run the same rates over your own order value to see the destination effect at your scale.
Check your own shipment
Run your exact code, origin and destination through the tariff checker — it flags the Chapter 99 exposure this guide warns about — then get supplier quotes compared on the same landed basis. Your first sourcing inquiry is free.
Want to see what a comparison looks like before you ask? View a sample supplier comparison report.
Sources and dates
- Duty and tax rates: official tariff schedules — US general rate 3.4% for HS 8507.60; Canada 7% (principal line 8507.60.90) — as verified in the CrossPart reference set, October 2026. Canada GST 5% on the duty-paid value; the US levies no federal import sales tax.
- Ocean benchmarks (per 40 ft container / FEU): Drewry World Container Index, 15 October 2026 — Shanghai→Los Angeles US$7,884; Shanghai→Rotterdam US$3,522. Freightos FBX, 9 October 2026 — China→US West Coast US$8,106; China→North Europe US$3,260.
- Air benchmark: Freightos Air Index, week to 13 October 2026 — China→North America US$5.77/kg. Airport-to-airport index figure; origin and destination charges excluded.
- Air restrictions: IATA dangerous-goods rules for lithium batteries (UN3480 cargo-aircraft-only, state of charge ≤30%) and IMDG Code requirements at sea, as in force in 2026. Carrier acceptance varies by airline, forwarder and route.
- Benchmarks are published market reference figures on the dates shown — not quotations. Actual freight is quoted per shipment and moves with the market. Transit times are typical ranges, not guarantees.
General educational content, not customs, legal or engineering advice. Confirm classifications, additional-duty exposure and dangerous-goods requirements with qualified professionals for your shipment.