Shipping Cost by Market — UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK and US

Across the five markets this business runs, sea transit is 25–35 days to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US West Coast, 35–45 days to the UK and 35–50 days to the US East Coast, with air at 4–8 days to the Gulf and US and 6–12 to the UK. What differs most is not the freight but what happens on arrival: the UAE charges a predictable 5% duty, Saudi Arabia a code-dependent 5–20% plus 15% VAT, the UK 20% import VAT that a registered importer normally recovers, and the US no import VAT at all but the most layered duty position, with the $800 de minimis exemption suspended since 29 August 2025.

Sea transit and import cost compared across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US: 25–35 days to the Gulf and US West Coast, and what each market charges on arrival.

How do the five markets compare on arrival cost?

The five markets this business runs, compared on the two things that decide a landed cost before the freight rate is even quoted: how long the cargo is in transit, and what is charged when it arrives. Every figure is taken from the destination page for that market, which carries its own source and review date.

Market	Sea, door to door	Air	Duty basis	Import tax
UAE	25–35 days Jebel Ali, door to door	4–7 days	Typically 5%	VAT 5% On the customs value plus duty
Saudi Arabia	25–35 days Jeddah / Dammam, door to door	4–8 days	By HS code, commonly 5–20%	VAT 15% On the customs value plus duty
US West Coast	25–35 days Los Angeles / Long Beach, door to door	5–8 days	By HTS code, plus Section 301 layers on many China-origin codes	No VAT at import State sales tax applies on the domestic sale instead
UK	35–45 days Felixstowe / Southampton, door to door	6–12 days	Follows the commodity code in the UK Global Tariff	Import VAT 20% On the customs value plus duty, reclaimable with a valid UK VAT number
US East Coast	35–50 days New York / Savannah, door to door	5–8 days	By HTS code, plus Section 301 layers on many China-origin codes	No VAT at import State sales tax applies on the domestic sale instead

Market

Sea, door to door

Air

Duty basis

Import tax

UAE

25–35 days
Jebel Ali, door to door

4–7 days

Typically 5%

VAT 5%
On the customs value plus duty

Saudi Arabia

25–35 days
Jeddah / Dammam, door to door

4–8 days

By HS code, commonly 5–20%

VAT 15%
On the customs value plus duty

US West Coast

25–35 days
Los Angeles / Long Beach, door to door

5–8 days

By HTS code, plus Section 301 layers on many China-origin codes

No VAT at import
State sales tax applies on the domestic sale instead

35–45 days
Felixstowe / Southampton, door to door

6–12 days

Follows the commodity code in the UK Global Tariff

Import VAT 20%
On the customs value plus duty, reclaimable with a valid UK VAT number

US East Coast

35–50 days
New York / Savannah, door to door

5–8 days

By HTS code, plus Section 301 layers on many China-origin codes

No VAT at import
State sales tax applies on the domestic sale instead

What actually differs between these markets?

The freight rate is the smallest part of the difference. Four of the five markets take a similar time to reach, so the arrival side separates them far more than the sailing does.

Why is the freight rate the smallest part of the difference?

Because four of the five markets take a similar time to reach, and the arrival side differs far more than the sailing does. Sea transit to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US West Coast is the same 25–35 days; the UK adds a week to ten days. What separates these markets in cost is duty basis, import tax and registration status — none of which the freight rate touches.

UAE: what is structurally different?

Low duty is the headline, and it is real: a flat 5% is simple to predict, which makes the UAE the easiest of the five to land-cost before booking. The complication is geography rather than tariff — mainland and free-zone movements are quoted separately and are not the same transaction.

The trap to settle before booking. Free-zone versus mainland. Goods entering a free zone have not entered the UAE for duty purposes until they leave it, so which one the cargo goes to changes when duty is triggered and who can receive the goods. This is settled before booking, not on arrival.

Saudi Arabia: what is structurally different?

The same transit window as the UAE but the widest duty spread of the five: a code inside the common 5–20% range moves the landed cost by a factor of four on the duty line alone, and 15% VAT then compounds it because VAT is charged on value plus duty.

The trap to settle before booking. Conformity assessment is a cost line, not a formality. Saber / SASO conformity work sits before shipment and is charged separately from freight and duty, and anti-dumping duty applies to listed goods on top of the tariff code. Both are quoted per shipment.

US West Coast: what is structurally different?

The fastest of the five by sea, and the one with no import VAT to model — but the duty position is the most layered. Section 301 tariffs sit on top of the HTS rate for many China-origin codes, so two shipments of the same goods can differ by more than the freight if the codes differ.

The trap to settle before booking. The $800 de minimis exemption has been suspended since 29 August 2025, so every shipment now needs a customs entry. A consignment that used to clear informally does not any more. MPF and HMF also apply, and a customs bond is needed to enter goods at all.

UK: what is structurally different?

Import VAT is the highest of the five at 20%, but it is normally recoverable by a VAT-registered importer, so for a registered business it is a cash-flow item rather than a cost — and the opposite is true for a private buyer or a non-registered importer. Transit is a week to ten days slower than the Gulf.

The trap to settle before booking. The recoverability is what decides whether the 20% is a cost or a timing difference, so the VAT registration status matters more to the landed cost here than the duty rate does. Northern Ireland follows different customs rules and is quoted separately.

US East Coast: what is structurally different?

Ten to fifteen days slower than the West Coast on the same goods and the same tariff position, because the vessel either transits the Panama Canal or crosses the Pacific and moves inland. Nothing about the duty changes; only the time and the routing do.

The trap to settle before booking. Choosing the coast is the first cost decision on a US shipment and the ocean rate is only the second. A domestic leg to a West Coast port is usually cheaper than the extra two weeks of transit and the working capital tied up in it — worth pricing both before committing to the nearer coast.

Questions about comparing these markets

Which of these markets is cheapest to import into?

It depends on whether you are VAT-registered, which is the single biggest split across the five. The UAE has the most predictable duty at a flat 5% and the lowest import tax at 5%. Saudi Arabia pairs a 5–20% code-dependent duty with 15% VAT, so its landed cost varies most with the code. The UK carries the highest nominal import VAT at 20%, but a UK VAT-registered importer normally recovers it, which turns it into a cash-flow item rather than a cost. The US charges no import VAT at all, but its duty position is the most layered because Section 301 tariffs stack on the HTS rate for many China-origin codes.

Why does the US transit differ so much by coast?

The Pacific crossing is not the variable, the number of legs is. A West Coast port sits on the same ocean as China, so the vessel sails directly across; an East Coast port is reached through the Panama Canal or by crossing the Pacific first and moving inland. Measured on our own lanes the gap is ten to fifteen days door to door — 25–35 days to the West Coast against 35–50 to the East Coast.

Does this page quote freight rates?

No. Freight rates move weekly with capacity, season and commodity, and a figure written here would be wrong within days. What this page compares is the structure that does not move — transit, the duty basis, the import tax and its base, and what triggers each one — so that a quotation can be read against it. The cost guide explains how the rate itself is built.

What is the most common surprise on these five markets?

Scope rather than rate. Saudi conformity work and anti-dumping duty sit outside the freight and duty lines. UAE free-zone goods have not entered for duty purposes until they leave the zone. The US de minimis suspension means consignments that previously cleared informally now need a full entry and a customs bond. In the UK the recoverability of import VAT depends on the importer's registration. None of these are visible in a freight-only quotation.

Where are the duty and tax figures taken from?

Each figure on this page is copied from the destination page for that market, which carries its own source and review date. Where a market has no sourced duty rate we publish none, which is why the duty column here describes the basis rather than a single number for every code. Duty is assessed per commodity code, so these are screening positions, not quotations.