If you buy frozen berries, this week’s tariff news is not background noise — it is a variable in your next price quote. The US Trade Representative imposed import duties of up to 12.5 percent on goods from 60 countries under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, and fresh blueberry exporters in Chile, Peru, and Morocco face the full rate. Canada and Mexico are exempt through their free trade agreements. [Source: IBO via freshfruitportal.com, Aug 28, 2026]
Start with the basics: duties attach to the product’s tariff classification. Frozen berries sit in HS Chapter 08, subheading 0811 — strawberries at 0811.10, raspberries and currants at 0811.20, other frozen berries at 0811.90. [Industry Standard HS classification] A fresh berry and a frozen berry of the same species can carry different duty treatment, and the declared code determines which one applies. Misdeclaration triggers reassessment, delays, and penalties that dwarf the duty itself.
Then ask the question every buyer should ask: who pays, and who carries the risk? Under FOB and CIF terms, the buyer typically bears import duty in the destination country, but the commercial reality is more subtle. When a supplier’s origin faces a new tariff, the landed cost rises, and the buyer either absorbs it, renegotiates, or switches origin.
The redrawing is already visible. Chile’s blueberry exports rose 3 percent year on year in 4Q25–1Q26 even as fresh shipments to the US fell 13 percent, with the EU, UK, and Asia absorbing the difference. Peru’s producers have opened 18 new export markets. [Source: IBO via freshfruitportal.com, Aug 28, 2026; freshfruitportal.com, Jul 30, 2026] For frozen berry buyers, the implication is direct: origins that lose tariff access to one market redirect volume to others, and redirected volume moves prices everywhere.
What buyers should do now. Review the tariff classification of every SKU you import and confirm the declared code with your broker. Map your supplier’s origin exposure — which markets does each origin serve, and what happens to their volume if a tariff lands? And build the habit of asking suppliers for landed-cost scenarios, not just FOB prices. WylFoods provides FOB and CIF quotes with the duty-relevant HS code stated on every offer, so buyers can model landed cost before they commit. [Company Fact Pending: confirm quoting practice]
Tariffs are not going to stop changing, but a buyer with a classification map, an origin map, and a landed-cost model reacts in days instead of seasons. If you want a short Q&A on how duties apply to frozen berries under the current US measures, send us your question and we will answer it with our customs broker’s input.
IBO via freshfruitportal.com (Aug 28, 2026); freshfruitportal.com (Jul 30, 2026); Industry Standard HS classification
