Shipping Small Orders from China to Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, Peru

Buyers in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Chile face the same China-side process as everyone else, and a different problem on arrival: long sea routes, customs regimes that changed in 2025 and 2026, and taxes that can exceed the value of the goods. This guide walks through the choice of transport for a first order of a few cartons to a few cubic metres, how consolidation from Yiwu or 1688 works, and what Brazil, Mexico and Peru charge at the border, as of October 2026. Rules change often in this region; the sources at the end are where to confirm the current rate before you price a product.

Three ways to move a small order#

The figures are typical ranges from forwarder quotes, not guarantees; congestion at Santos or Manzanillo adds weeks in peak season. Courier is simplest but has two limits: price per kilogram rises fast above 30 to 50 kg, and the simplified customs regimes that make courier convenient apply to small, personal-use or low-value shipments. A commercial order of 100 units will usually be cleared as an import whichever mode carries it. For the general trade-offs between modes see sea vs air vs rail vs express, and for when a container makes sense, LCL vs FCL.

Gifts, party supplies, plush toys and clothing are light for their volume, so they are billed on volumetric weight by courier and air. For these products the sea option becomes attractive sooner than the weight alone suggests; a cubic metre of plush toys may weigh 100 kg and cost less by LCL than by air.

Consolidation: how goods from several sellers become one shipment#

Most 1688 sellers and Yiwu booths deliver inside mainland China only. The standard arrangement is a consolidation warehouse run by a forwarder or buying agent in Yiwu, Guangzhou or Shenzhen:

1. Each seller ships to the warehouse with your customer code on the carton.
2. The warehouse logs arrivals, counts cartons and, if you pay for it, opens them to check quantities and quality.
3. Goods from all sellers are repacked into export cartons and one shipment is booked.
4. The forwarder prepares the export declaration and the documents your customs will need.

Ask for a receiving report per supplier and a packing list with the HS codes, quantities and values that will be declared, because the declared value drives the tax you pay on arrival. The process is described step by step in how to buy from 1688 outside China and buying from the Yiwu market without visiting.

Many forwarders serving Latin America sell door-to-door (DDP) services with clearance included. For a first order that removes the hardest part, but ask for the duty breakdown; a DDP price that looks too good usually relies on undervaluation, and customs in all three countries below audit declared values.

Brazil#

Brazil has two very different regimes, and the one you read about in the news is not the one a reseller uses.

Consumer parcels (Remessa Conforme). For an individual buying from an e-commerce site certified under the Remessa Conforme program, the federal import tax is zero on purchases up to US$50 and 60% above that, with a US$30 deduction from the tax calculated; the state ICMS of 17% to 20% applies to every purchase. The zero rate on purchases up to US$50 took effect in May 2026 and has been the subject of further legislation since, so check the Receita Federal page before relying on it. This regime is for individuals; it is not a way for a company to import stock.

Formal imports. A company importing goods to resell needs its CNPJ enabled for foreign trade in the customs system (the RADAR/Siscomex registration) and usually a customs broker. The taxes stack:

Because each tax feeds the next, the effective burden on a US$10,000 shipment of clothing can approach or exceed its value. Build the calculation with the exact NCM code before you accept a price; the method is in how to calculate landed cost. Brazil also requires Portuguese labelling on textiles and INMETRO certification on some product groups, which must be arranged before shipment.

Ports and time. Sea freight from South China to Santos or Itajaí is typically four to seven weeks port to port, plus clearance. Air freight to São Paulo (Guarulhos or Viracopos) is the common choice for samples and first orders.

Mexico#

Mexico changed both of its regimes in 2025 and 2026, and both now treat goods from China less favourably than goods from trade-agreement partners.

Courier parcels. Since 15 August 2025, goods imported through courier companies from countries without a trade agreement with Mexico, which includes China, pay a flat global rate of 33.5% on any value above US$1, with no duty-free threshold. Parcels from the United States or Canada keep a US$50 exemption and lower rates. The 33.5% covers duty and VAT in one simplified charge, but it also means that a small courier order from a Chinese seller is taxed at a third of its value before the courier's own fees.

Formal imports. From 1 January 2026, a decree published in the Diario Oficial on 29 December 2025 raised Mexico's general import tariffs on roughly 1,400 tariff lines for goods from countries without a trade agreement, with rates from 5% to 50%; finished clothing and footwear sit in the upper band at up to 35%. Mexican import VAT (IVA) of 16% applies on top of duty. A Mexican importer must be registered in the Padrón de Importadores, and the sectoral registries apply to products such as textiles and footwear.

Ports and time. Sea freight from South China to Manzanillo or Lázaro Cárdenas on the Pacific coast is three to five weeks port to port, the shortest ocean route in the region. Many Mexican buyers also route through a US consolidator, but since the United States suspended duty-free de minimis treatment on 29 August 2025, that route no longer avoids US duties on the way through.

Peru#

Peru is the friendliest of the three for small shipments, with one caveat.

Courier parcels. Shipments with an FOB value up to US$200 enter free of duty and IGV. From US$200 to US$2,000 a simplified rate of 4% duty plus 18% IGV applies on the CIF value, and above US$2,000 the goods are cleared as a regular import through a customs agent. Courier packages are limited to 50 kg each, and several packages for the same consignee on the same flight are added together, so splitting a commercial order into parcels does not keep it under the threshold. The customs authority, SUNAT, said in 2026 that it is reviewing the US$200 exemption; check for changes before relying on it.

Formal imports and the free trade agreement. Peru has had a free trade agreement with China since 2010. With a certificate of origin from the supplier, many products enter at a preferential or zero duty instead of the standard rate, which is the single biggest saving available to a Peruvian importer and one that forwarders often forget to ask for. The importer needs an active RUC and, for regular imports, a customs agent.

Ports and time. Sea freight from South China to Callao is typically four to six weeks port to port. Air freight to Lima is the usual choice for first orders and for the gift and party-supply trade, where seasonality matters more than freight cost.

Colombia, Chile and the rest of the region#

Chile, like Peru, has a free trade agreement with China, so a certificate of origin matters there too. Colombia, Argentina and the Central American countries do not, and each has its own courier threshold and tax stack. The approach is the same everywhere: find the HS code, ask a local broker for the duty and VAT on that code, confirm whether a courier regime applies to your value and quantity, and only then compare freight quotes.

Documents to prepare#

• Commercial invoice with the real transaction value, the seller's and buyer's full details and the Incoterm; customs in all three countries compare declared values against reference prices.
• Packing list with carton counts, weights and dimensions per SKU.
• Certificate of origin where a trade agreement applies (Peru, Chile).
• Product compliance paperwork your market requires, such as labelling, safety certificates for toys and electrical goods, and INMETRO certificates for Brazil.
• Importer registration in your own country, arranged before the goods ship.

Which party arranges each document depends on the Incoterm; EXW vs FOB vs DDP explains who is responsible for what under each term.

Common mistakes#

• Pricing from the freight quote alone. In this region the tax at the border, not the freight, usually decides whether a product is viable.
• Splitting a commercial order into courier parcels to stay under a threshold. Customs add parcels together and reclassify the shipment, and the undeclared importer has no registration to clear it.
• Accepting a DDP price without a breakdown. You still own the goods when customs find an undervalued invoice.
• Forgetting the certificate of origin in Peru and Chile. It costs little and can remove the duty entirely.
• Shipping before registering as an importer. Goods wait in a bonded warehouse at your cost while the registration is processed.