Eyewear is a category where the headline duty is modest but the stacked landed cost may not be, because much of the production base sits in origins now carrying additional tariff layers. A meaningful share of sunglasses and frames is produced in China, where Section 301 duties and any current US tariff actions that apply can layer on top of the base rate, so a low single-digit base duty can translate into a noticeably higher effective rate per unit. For a low-AOV accessory often bought on impulse, that gap tends to land on margin rather than being absorbed in a high sticker price. The exact figure depends on the specific ten-digit HS code and the country of origin.
Representative 2026 estimate stacking base MFN duty (USITC HTS 2026 Rev.10), Section 301 on China-origin goods (USTR), Section 232 on autos and steel/aluminum/copper articles (CRS IN12545), and the 10% Section 122 surcharge that expires 2026-07-24 and is under appeal (Skadden). South Korea duty-free treatment requires meeting USMCA or KORUS rules of origin; non-qualifying goods pay standard MFN duty. Your exact per-SKU duty depends on the precise HS code, which MarginGuard resolves from the live HTS schedule once connected. Not legal or customs advice.
South Korea trades with the United States under KORUS, a free-trade agreement, which means most qualifying goods can enter duty-free provided they meet the agreement's rules of origin. For a Shopify merchant, that duty-free treatment can remove a line item from landed cost compared with sourcing from countries whose goods face standard or higher tariffs. The treatment is conditional: the duty-free rate applies only to goods that actually originate in Korea under KORUS criteria, not to anything merely shipped or finished there. Whether your specific product qualifies, and what rate applies if it does not, turns on its exact HS code and origin, so the representative rate shown on this page is a starting point rather than a quote for your SKU.
South Korea can be a lower-duty alternative to China when goods qualify, because KORUS allows qualifying goods to enter duty-free rather than at the variable and sometimes higher rates Chinese imports can carry. It carries its own trade-offs, and they fall mostly on cost-of-goods and capacity rather than tariffs: Korean manufacturing tends toward higher-value, higher-labor-cost output (electronics, cosmetics and skincare, auto parts, industrial components), so unit prices can run above Chinese equivalents and minimum order quantities may not suit very small runs. The main condition is rules of origin. A factory in Korea that assembles imported Chinese components may not produce a KORUS-originating good, which means the duty break you budgeted for may not apply. To source here for margin safety, confirm with your supplier that the product qualifies as Korean-origin under KORUS, obtain documentation to support that, and price in the higher base cost rather than assuming duty-free entry erases the difference. This is general guidance, not customs advice; verify eligibility with a licensed customs broker for your goods.
That's a single SKU. Across a full catalog the tariff hits every imported product differently depending on its cost and price — which is exactly why margin damage hides until a quarter closes light.
Paste your Shopify URL. In about ten seconds you'll see every SKU that dropped below your target margin after the current South Korea tariffs — and the exact price to charge to recover each one. Free, no login.
Scan your store free →Landed cost = unit cost × (1 + tariff rate). To get back to a target margin M, the recovery price is landed cost ÷ (1 − M). For a $30 pair of sunglasses from South Korea at a 10% stacked rate, that means charging $19.25 to hold a 40% margin. Round to a clean price point and test it; the point is to stop selling underwater.
These goods sit in Chapter 90 (optical instruments), usually heading 9004, with frames and mountings imported on their own generally falling under heading 9003. A primary driver of the effective rate is often country of origin rather than the base duty alone: China-origin eyewear can stack Section 301 plus any current US tariff actions that apply on top of the base rate, while goods qualifying under a trade preference may land lower. Within 9004 the rate also depends on what the article actually is at the eight- and ten-digit level: sunglasses with a tinted, UV-filtering lens (9004.10) are generally treated differently from other corrective or protective spectacles and clear-lens readers (9004.90), and value, materials, and whether the lens is prescription can each affect the precise per-SKU number. Because the exact rate turns on the full ten-digit code and the origin, treat any single percentage as indicative and confirm the line for your specific product.
A recurring trap is the line between 9004.10 (sunglasses) and 9004.90 (other spectacles), and it can be misread in both directions. Blue-light-blocking glasses and clear-lens readers with no meaningful tint are generally not sunglasses and typically belong in 9004.90, while a tinted, UV-filtering lens generally pulls the article into 9004.10 even when it also carries a prescription or fashion styling. A second pitfall is shipping frames separately: empty fashion frames and frame components generally classify under 9003, not 9004, so a "sunglasses" SKU brought in as frames-plus-lenses on different lines can be classified and rated differently than the assembled finished product. If you are unsure how a split shipment should be classified, confirm the treatment with a licensed customs broker before relying on it.
Origin is often what moves landed cost most in this category, because the added duty layers tend to be origin-driven rather than product-driven. Eyewear assembly has a credible footprint outside China, with sunglasses and frame production established in places such as Italy and growing capacity in Vietnam, so sourcing the same design from a non-China origin may reduce the surcharge layer that dominates the China figure. Whether an origin claim holds generally turns on where the lens and frame are actually assembled and finished rather than where a label is applied, so confirm any origin claim is defensible with a customs professional before counting on it. Even within China sourcing, confirming your ten-digit code, reviewing order structure, and reviewing valuation methods such as first-sale where they genuinely apply may help, though each should be confirmed with a customs professional rather than assumed.
Are sunglasses and prescription glasses classified the same way for duty?
Not exactly. Both generally sit in heading 9004, but sunglasses with a tinted, UV-filtering lens typically fall under 9004.10 while non-sun corrective and protective spectacles, including clear-lens readers, typically fall under 9004.90. A tinted prescription sunglass is generally still treated as a sunglass under 9004.10, so the UV-filtering tint, not the prescription, is usually what drives the subheading. Confirm the exact ten-digit code for your specific product.
Why is my eyewear import cost so much higher than the base duty rate suggests?
The base duty for this category is relatively low, but it is often not the whole story. China-origin eyewear can stack Section 301 duties and any current US tariff actions that apply on top of that base rate, so the effective rate per unit can be materially higher than the headline number. Model the stacked rate for your specific origin and ten-digit HS code rather than relying on the base line alone.
Does importing frames and lenses separately reduce my duty?
It generally changes the classification rather than reliably reducing the cost, and it can backfire. Empty frames and mountings generally classify under heading 9003, separate lenses may classify elsewhere, and assembled sunglasses generally sit in 9004, so splitting a finished product into components shifts which rate applies and may prompt a reclassification on review. Confirm the correct ten-digit code for how the goods actually arrive, ideally with a licensed customs broker, before assuming a component split saves money.
Do goods from South Korea really enter the US duty-free?
Most qualifying goods can, under the KORUS free-trade agreement. The key word is qualifying: duty-free treatment applies only to goods that meet KORUS rules of origin, not to everything shipped from Korea. Goods that do not qualify fall back to the standard tariff rate for their exact HS code. Confirm your specific product's eligibility before assuming the duty-free rate, and treat the rate shown on this page as a representative figure rather than a quote for your SKU. This is general guidance, not customs advice; verify with a licensed customs broker for your goods.
What makes a product count as 'Korean origin' for the KORUS duty break?
Origin is determined by KORUS rules of origin, not just by where the item ships from or where final assembly happens. Generally a good must be either wholly produced in Korea or substantially transformed there, often with a minimum share of qualifying materials or a required change in tariff classification. A product assembled in Korea from largely imported components may not qualify. Ask your supplier whether the item meets KORUS origin criteria and can supply origin documentation to support a claim. This is general guidance, not customs advice; verify with a licensed customs broker for your goods.
Is sourcing from South Korea cheaper overall than from China?
Not necessarily on unit cost. KORUS can remove or reduce the tariff line that Chinese imports may face, which helps landed cost, but Korean goods often carry higher base manufacturing prices and sometimes higher minimum order quantities. Whether Korea wins on total landed cost depends on your product, order volume, and whether the goods actually qualify for duty-free entry, with the applicable rate turning on the exact HS code. Run the full landed-cost comparison, duty plus unit price plus freight, rather than assuming the duty advantage alone makes Korea the cheaper option. This is general guidance, not customs advice; verify with a licensed customs broker for your goods.
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