Most of the brands that ask us about Vietnam ask the same thing first: how much duty will we save? For a steel folding knife going into the US, the answer today is roughly 25 percentage points. Whether you actually get that saving depends on something else: where the blade is made.
This post covers both, plus what we would check in any Vietnam factory, ours included. The duty picture is as of November 10, 2026. It has changed several times this year and will likely change again.
Where the duty gap comes from
Three layers apply to a folding knife (HTS 8211.93) entering the US:
- The normal duty: 3¢ each plus 5.4%. Same for China and Vietnam.
- Section 232: since April 6, 2026, every knife heading under 8211 is listed as a steel derivative, which adds 25% on the full customs value. This also applies to both countries. (Knives that are mostly plastic by weight may fall outside it. Check with your broker.)
- Section 301: China only. CBP ruling N348577 confirmed an extra 25% on folding knives from China.
Add it up and a Chinese folding knife pays about 55% plus 3¢ each. The same knife from Vietnam pays about 30% plus 3¢. Fixed blades (8211.92) have different base rates and the same Section 232 layer. We couldn't confirm their Section 301 status, so check that before you count on the same gap.
A few things are still open. The US–Vietnam trade agreement has been "essentially completed" since October but isn't signed. A Section 301 decision on Vietnam is due at the end of November, and a wider case covering both countries runs into 2027. Get a current quote from your customs broker before you build a business case on these numbers.
If you sell into Europe, the gap is cleaner. The EU charges 8.5% on knives from China and 0% on knives from Vietnam under the EU–Vietnam trade agreement, as long as the paperwork proves Vietnamese origin.
Origin follows the blade
None of the savings apply unless US Customs agrees the knife is Vietnamese. For knives, Customs looks at where the blade was formed, because the blade is what makes a knife a knife.
The rulings are fairly consistent on this. In HQ 559366, a blade made in China and fitted with a US handle stayed Chinese. In HQ 561116, blades and handles made in Taiwan and assembled in China stayed Taiwanese. In HQ 561661, instruments forged to shape in one country and then ground, heat treated and assembled in another kept the origin of the forging.
In practice this means you can't ship finished blades from China to Vietnam, assemble them there, and call the knife Vietnamese. Some suppliers offer exactly that. Customs authorities are watching for it, and when origin is wrong, the bill goes to the importer, which is you.
So the useful question for a Vietnam factory isn't "can you assemble our knife?" It's "which steps of the blade happen in this building?"
What to check in a Vietnam factory
Ask for a process flow for your specific knife, part by part, with the location of each step written next to it. The steps that matter most:
- Blade blank machining from sheet or bar steel
- Rough grinding of the bevels and profile
- Heat treatment, with hardness records per batch
- Finish grinding to final geometry
Then ask about the parts around the blade: liners, pivots, clips, handle scales. Some will come from outside Vietnam, which is normal. You just need to know which ones, so the origin documents match what happened.
Coatings are worth a separate question. Many knife factories send PVD and DLC out to specialist shops, and so do we. Ask who does it, where, and how the parts are inspected when they come back.
What doesn't move overnight
Moving a knife that is already in production is closer to launching it again than to switching a shipping address. Expect to re-sample. The approved sample from the new site becomes the reference for production and inspection, and a small pilot run usually comes before full volume. Material suppliers, especially for powder steels and specialty handle materials, may need to be re-qualified for the new site.
Plan the move SKU by SKU. Your highest-volume US models get the biggest benefit from the duty gap. Low-volume or complex models may be better left where they are, at least for the first season.
How we run it at Summit Gear
We have made knives in Yangjiang since 1997 and run a second factory in Haiphong, in the DEEP C Industrial Zone. Both are our own sites. Machining, grinding, heat treatment, assembly and inspection are done in-house at both. For Vietnam programs, blades are cut, ground, heat treated and finish ground in Haiphong, so the blade is formed in Vietnam. PVD and DLC coating goes through qualified partners. The Haiphong factory has more than 80 staff and capacity of about 2 million pieces a year. Yangjiang is larger, at around 5 million.
One project team runs both factories. That lets a brand keep development and sampling where it started, then put US- and EU-bound volume through Haiphong once the Vietnam sample is approved.
If you're weighing a move, send us the SKUs you're considering and where they sell. We'll tell you which steps of each knife can be done in Haiphong, which parts would still come in from outside, and what that means for the origin paperwork.
This article is general information, not legal or customs advice. Tariff rates and rulings change; confirm the treatment of your specific products with a licensed customs broker or a binding ruling from CBP.