engagements. If your current offshore program does not have clear answers on all five of those points, the contract review is where to start. It carries the highest return with no lead time required. If you want to map your full China exposure before your next RFQ cycle, our injection molding consulting service walks you through a structured supplier audit and total cost of ownership calculation from first call to final report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vietnam a reliable source for production-grade injection mold tooling?
Yes, with deliberate supplier selection. Vietnamese shops in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong province have built solid capability for mid-complexity multicavity tooling in P20 and 718 steel. The quality gap versus mid-tier Chinese shops has narrowed. High-cavitation hot runner tools, core-cavity tolerances under 0.005 mm, and specialty steels like H13 or S7 for abrasive resins require more thorough vetting in Vietnam than in China’s established tool room centers.
How much do US tariffs add to the landed cost of a China-sourced mold?
Injection molds imported from China fall under HTS 8480.71 and have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since September 2018. The base List 3 rate is 25%, per the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Executive order tariffs through 2025 may apply supplemental rates depending on your product classification. On a $30,000 tool, a 25% duty adds $7,500 before freight. Confirm your current rate with a licensed customs broker before building your RFQ cost model.
What are the lead time differences between Chinese and Vietnamese mold makers?
Established Chinese mold shops with US OEM experience typically deliver T1 samples in 12 to 16 weeks for mid-complexity multicavity tooling. Comparable Vietnamese shops currently run 14 to 18 weeks on similar scope. The gap is narrowing as Vietnamese shops add 5-axis CNC capacity. Plan one additional revision cycle at T1 for any first-time program with a new Vietnamese supplier until you have a documented qualification history with them.
What happens to my tooling IP if I source from a Chinese mold shop?
Your IP is protected on paper by Chinese law, but enforcement is inconsistent and litigation is slow. The practical risk is that your geometry, gate locations, and cavity count become visible to a supplier who may serve competing customers with access to those details. Reduce this exposure by limiting CAD files delivered to production-support geometry only, requiring NDA terms that survive contract expiration, and comparing production volume records against your purchase orders annually.
Should I dual-source my molds across China and Vietnam to reduce risk?
Dual-sourcing makes sense for programs running above 500,000 annual parts or for tools where a T2 delay would cause a direct line-stop event. For mid-volume programs, dual-sourcing doubles qualification cost and splits your engineering attention at T1. A more practical approach is to maintain a vetted Vietnamese supplier as a qualified alternate rather than an active production source. That gives you an 8 to 12 week exit path without carrying full dual-qualification overhead on every program.
How do I vet a mold supplier in Vietnam the same way I would in China?
The core criteria are the same. Run a PPAP-aligned qualification process, visit the shop floor before committing to T1, review steel mill certifications, check cavity measurement reports against your tolerance stack, and confirm the supplier carries commercial liability insurance with your company named as additional insured. The key added step in Vietnam is hot runner system relationships. Most Vietnamese shops source from international brands and do not maintain in-country technical support the way established Chinese shops do.