Cargo Sprinters were partly disassembled to avoid the 25% U.S. “chicken tax.”
The chicken tax is a 25% American tariff on imported light trucks. It originated in a 1960s trade dispute after the United States responded to European tariffs on American chicken imports. Although the dispute concerned agriculture, the resulting truck tariff became a lasting feature of vehicle importing.
Mercedes-Benz and its commercial-vehicle operations used a semi-knockdown assembly strategy for cargo Sprinters sold in the United States. Vans were partially disassembled overseas, shipped across the Atlantic in components, and reassembled at a facility in Ladson, South Carolina. Because the vehicles did not enter the country as fully assembled imported cargo trucks, the arrangement reduced exposure to the tariff.
The method also explains why passenger and cargo versions could be treated differently. Passenger Sprinters continued to be imported as complete vehicles, while cargo versions used the partial-disassembly route. Ford later used a related approach with the Transit Connect, importing passenger-configured vans and converting them after arrival. The “chicken tax” is therefore a trade-law story hidden inside several modern van designs.