If you are a monument dealer or cemetery supplier in the USA or Canada who has been holding back on direct import sourcing because of concerns about sea freight costs or import tariffs, this is written specifically for you.
The concern is understandable. Trade news in 2025 and 2026 has been loud on tariffs. Freight rates have moved. And for a business that has always sourced through a domestic distributor, the logistics of an ocean container can feel like unfamiliar territory.
Here is the reality: for granite headstones and memorial products imported from India, tariffs are low, freight costs are fixed and foreseeable, and Stone Discover handles the entire export side so that your business receives a clean, landed shipment without uncertainty. This is not complexity. It is a straightforward supply chain that thousands of monument dealers across North America have been running successfully for decades.
What the Tariff on Indian Granite Headstones Actually Is
Granite memorial products imported into the USA from India are classified under HTS code 6802.93, worked granite for monuments and buildings. The standard duty rate under this code is 3.7% of the declared FOB value of the shipment. That is the number. Not 25%. Not 40%. Not the headline tariff figures circulating in trade news about other product categories and other origin countries.
Indian granite headstones are not subject to the Section 301 tariffs that apply to Chinese stone products. They are not subject to anti-dumping duties. The 3.7% figure has been stable and consistent for years, and it is a known, budgetable cost that every experienced importer factors into their landed cost calculation from day one.
On a standard container of granite headstones with an FOB value of $18,000, the duty payable is approximately $666. That number does not change your sourcing economics. It is a line item, not a barrier.
For Canadian buyers, the situation is equally straightforward. Granite memorials enter Canada under Chapter 68 of the Canadian Customs Tariff with a Most Favoured Nation rate of 0% from India under the current trade framework. Canadian monument dealers importing direct from Stone Discover pay no import duty on the product itself.
What Sea Freight Actually Costs and How We Handle It
Ocean freight from Indian ports to major US and Canadian ports is a fixed, quotable cost at the time of order confirmation. It is not an unknown variable. Stone Discover works with established freight forwarders on regular sailing schedules to ports including Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Savannah, and Vancouver.
For a standard 20-foot container of granite headstones, ocean freight to a US port typically adds $35 to $55 per unit to your landed cost depending on the destination port and current market rates. That cost is provided to you in writing before you confirm your order. There are no surprise freight invoices after the container ships.
Stone Discover handles all export documentation as standard: commercial invoice, packing list, fumigation certificate, bill of lading, and certificate of origin. Every headstone ships in a fumigated wooden crate with internal foam separators and acid-free surface wrapping. Our damage rate on delivered shipments is near zero because the packaging process is engineered specifically for FCL ocean freight conditions.
Your end of the logistics requires one licensed US customs broker to file the import entry, typically costing $150 to $300 per shipment. That is the full extent of what your team needs to manage on the import side.
A Direct Quote from Us
We have been exporting granite headstones and memorial products to monument dealers across the USA and Canada since 1984. In that time, tariff rates on Indian granite have remained stable, and our freight relationships have kept shipping costs foreseeable for our trade partners.
When a new dealer asks us about tariffs and freight as a barrier to sourcing, our answer is always the same: the total landed cost of a Stone Discover headstone, including FOB price, ocean freight, marine insurance, US customs duty at 3.7%, port handling, and inland freight to your warehouse, is still significantly below what a US distributor charges for the same product category. The cost layers that concern new importers are real costs, but they are smaller than the distributor margin they replace.
Source direct from us, and the numbers work in your favor. We will show you the full landed cost breakdown before you commit to a single unit.
What This Means for Your Product Range
The savings available through direct import sourcing apply across everything we manufacture. Upright headstones in Absolute Black, flat markers for flush-ground cemetery sections, bevel markers with rock-pitched sides, angel headstones with hand-carved detail, memorial benches, columbarium units, and kerb sets for cemetery border installations, all manufactured at our own facility in Sangareddy, Telangana, and all shipped under the same stable tariff and freight structure.
One manufacturer. One supply chain. One set of costs that your business can plan around with confidence.
Start the Conversation
Stone Discover is a direct granite headstone manufacturer and exporter, ISO 9001 certified, supplying the US and Canadian memorial trade since 1984. No middlemen. No hidden freight surprises. No tariff uncertainty.
Download our Trade Catalogue for the full product range and specifications.
Request a Trade Quote and receive a full landed cost breakdown for your market within 24 hours. Contact our export team to discuss freight schedules, customs documentation, or your first container order. Phone / WhatsApp (USA): +1 858 293 5368 Email: info@stonediscover.com
