April 4, 2025
New Tariffs
We’ve all been hearing about the new tariffs. As you know, most electronics are manufactured outside of the US. This is also true of lenses. The vast majority of components we use in the machine vision industry are made in Asia and Europe.
How will the new tariffs affect your purchases from Machine Vision Store? Though we’ve taken a few actions to mitigate and delay our exposure to the tariffs, the situation is generally beyond our control. The cost of purchasing and delivering electronic and optical components has increased.
Background
Machine Vision Store commits to transparency in all things we do, including pricing policy. Some readers may be curious about the inner workings of how tariffs get charged and paid. The answer is that it depends on the contract between the US buyer and the foreign manufacturer.
Most contracts rely on terms defined by the International Chamber of Commerce. These are called “Incoterms.” (You can learn about them on Wikipedia.) If the contract specifies, for example, EXW or FCA factory, then the buyer pays all freight and tariffs. On the other hand, if the contract specifies DDP destination, then the shipper pays all freight and tariffs. There are several other variants, but EXW and FCA are the most common terms for small parcels.
Machine Vision Store’s partner manufacturers generally offer EXW or FCA terms. If they have a US warehouse, then we’re paying for freight and insurance, and accepting the risk of loss, from that warehouse to our own. And when the manufacturer is shipping from a factory outside of the US, that means we’re also paying the tariffs.
Tariffs are collected by a customs broker and paid to the US Treasury. The broker ensures compliance with related regulations and processes transaction data on behalf of the responsible party. And of course, the broker charges a fee for their effort.
Until recently, most machine vision components were subject to a US tariff of between 0 and 4 percent, depending on the type of item and the manufacturing origin. There were however exceptions, including a 25% tariff on lenses made in China.
HTS Codes and Origin
Information about each and every item imported into the US must be provided to the government. This information includes the country of origin, the quantity or weight of the item, the value of the item, and the type of item. Item types have been standardized by the World Customs Organization. They have defined a 6-digit "HS" code for every product you could imagine.
Here in the US, we use "HTS" (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) codes. The first six digits of the HTS code are the same as the HS code. For example, the HS code for camera lenses is 900211. The HTS code is 9002119000. The US has defined about 19,000 different HTS codes.
The country of origin ("COO") specified when importing an item must indicate the country where the item was actually made, not where it shipped from. There are very specific rules for determining where an item was made.
Multiple Tariffs Applied
The US tariff rate applied to an item depends not only on the HTS code and COO, but sometimes also varies with what the item is made from. Consider an example.
The tariff rate for aluminum and copper is currently 50%. This tariff applies not only to the raw metals, but also to the value of these metals in certain products. For example, electrical cables are assumed to contain copper. If we source a cable from Japan, then it will be subject to the historic 3.9% tariff, the current 15% tariff on Japaneese goods, and the 50% tariff on the copper content. Customs brokers are apparently overwhelmed by the work load and the changing government policies, and seem to be just assuming that the full value of an electrical cable is due to the copper content. We then end up with an effective tariff rate of 68.9% on electrical cables from Japan and the EU.
Specifics
[UPDATED 8/13/2025]
What does this mean for you? It depends on the items you're purchasing, as well as the associated manufacturer's policies.
APG
APG manufactures most of their products in the US. Prices remain unchanged so far. However, the vast majority of their products are made from steel or aluminum. If the cost of these metals increases substantially, our own opinion is that there will be a price increase.
Base Lab Tools
Base Lab Tools manufactures their products in the US. However, the vast majority of their products are made from steel or aluminum, metals that are now subject to high tariffs. Base Lab Tools recently increased their prices about 5% (depending on the item) to help offset their higher production costs.
Basler
Basler announced on May 9th that, effective immediately, they will be passing all tariff costs on to purchasers. The tariffs are especially steep on their lenses and cables manufactured in China. Basler cameras manufactured in Germany are currently subject to a 15% import tariff. Machine Vision Store has added an import fee to offset our increased cost.
Fuji Film
Fuji Film has added a 30% surcharge to all orders. Most of their lenses are made in China.
Kowa
Kowa recently increased their prices to offset the tariff cost. Most of their products are manufactured in Japan.
Leimac
There has been no price increase on Leimac lights and controllers. Leimac is absorbing the tariff cost for many of the items they manufacture, while Machine Vision Store is absorbing the tariff on some controllers and accessories. The one exception is electrical cables, which are subject to 68.9% tariff. (The total price still leaves most cables inexpensive.)
MidOpt
So far, there have not been any price increases on the optical filters produced by MidOpt.
Neousys
Neousys currently does some light assembly work in the US. However, most of their products' value is in the components arriving from Asia. While some products are currently exempt from tariffs, prices on many items have already increased. We may see further changes.
Opto-Engineering
Prices have increased 5 to 10% on most items.
Photoneo
With Zebra Technologies' acquisition of Photoneo, prices are subject to review and change. No specifics are available to us yet.
Schneider Kreuznach
Schneider changed their US prices, effective August 12th. They rescinded their recent 10% price increase and reverted to their previous prices on most items. However, a 15% import surcharge has now been added. This is in line with the August 1 tariff increase on EU products.
Machine Vision Store has updated our prices accordingly. Once Schenider provides us with the HTS codes and origin for all of their products, our online store will be able to calculate the import fees automatically.
Smart Vision Lights
Most Smart Vision Lights products are made in the US, and we have not seen any price or policy changes.
Spectrum Illumination
Most Spectrum Illumination products are made in the US, and we have not seen any price or policy changes.
SVS-Vistek
Most SVS-Vistek cameras are manufactured in Germany. Many accessories are made in China. Machine Vision Store is currently paying US import tariffs on SVS-Vistek products. The prices we quote remain unchanged, but we have no choice but to apply an import fee that reflects a substantial increase in our landed cost.
Zebra
Zebra's supply chain is truly global. However, their machine vision prices remain unchanged. Now may be a good time to stock up.
Zeiss
Zeiss previously announced that it is exiting the industrial lens market. Our own opinion is we won't see any price increases at this time.
Website Changes
Our goal has always been to clearly communicate pricing policies. Now, we’re extending that to how tariffs affect your total price. Here’s how we’re evolving our website.
- We’re working to publish the HTS code and origin for every product on our website. We’ve made good progress, but this will take time to complete.
- We now offer an online selection of “overstock” items at special pricing that excludes tariffs.
- We’ve enhanced our website to calculate and display “import fees” when necessary. (Just view your shopping cart.)
Why are we passing along costs?
We do business in a competitive market. Current tariff costs exceed our net profit margin. We absorbed the unexpected application of higher tariffs on imported orders that arrived in May. We want to be here to serve you for many years to come, and will continue our work to provide you with the best value possible.
Estimated Import Fees
Your shopping cart and sales order acknowledgment may include itemized import fees. These fees are based on today's tariff rates. If the applicable tariff rate changes prior to shipping, we will notify you of the revised import fee. We will then collect, or refund, the difference.
We understand and share your concerns about how tariffs are impacting the cost of imaging components and, moreover, the cost of automating US factories. As a small business, we have no special insight into, or influence over, these new market conditions. Fortunately, there is no tariff on the customer service and technical services we provide. We will continue to invest our energy in these areas to remain your trusted partner.
Tags: Tariffs, Leimac