Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the President adjust imports that the Department of Commerce finds to threaten US national security. Its duties began with steel and aluminum in 2018 and now reach vehicles, trucks, lumber, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and more. Unlike most other additional duties, they usually apply to goods from every country, with lower rates for partners that made a deal with the United States.
What it covers today
The main families in service on October 30, 2026, and their usual rates:
- Steel, aluminum and copper
- 50% on the metal articles themselves; 25% on the derivative products made of them; for a long list of equipment containing them, a total of 15% for most countries, the Section 232 duty topping the base duty up to 15%. Lower rates apply to the United Kingdom, a 10% rate to goods whose metal was produced in the United States, and 200% to aluminum from Russia.
- Passenger vehicles, light trucks and their parts
- 25%; a total of 15% for the European Union, Japan and South Korea (and for parts from Taiwan); a quota at a reduced rate for the United Kingdom; for vehicles that qualify under the USMCA, the duty falls on their non-US content, and qualifying parts owe none.
- Medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses
- 25% on trucks and their parts, 10% on buses.
- Timber, lumber and furniture
- 10% on softwood timber and lumber; 25% on upholstered wooden furniture and on kitchen cabinets and vanities, 15% from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, 10% from the United Kingdom.
- Pharmaceuticals
- Since July 31, 2026: 100% in total on patented pharmaceuticals, 15% in total from partners, 20% for companies under an onshoring plan, and no additional duty on generic medicines.
- Semiconductors and drones
- 25% on some semiconductor articles since January 15, 2026; since September 3, 2026, 100% on unmanned aircraft and their parts, or 25% for those without thermal imaging.
More are on the way: duties on polysilicon from December 4, 2026, and the proclamations of October 28, 2026 on robotics, industrial machinery and wind turbines. The trade updates say what each changes and when it is in TariffTrust's data.
Steel, aluminum and copper: the rules of 2026
The metals duties were rewritten by two proclamations, for goods entered from April 6 and from June 8, 2026:
- The full value. The duty is charged on the full customs value of the goods, no longer on the value of their metal content alone.
- A weight threshold. A listed product outside the chapters of steel, aluminum and copper (Chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76) owes the duty only if those metals make at least 15% of its weight.
- Where the metal was made. The 10% rate is for goods whose metal was melted and poured (steel), or smelted and cast (aluminum, copper), in the United States, at least 85% of the metal by weight; the United Kingdom's lower rates ask for at least 95% of UK metal. The mill certificate of the metal shows it.
- Once. A product that contains two or three of these metals pays the metals duty once.
How it meets the other duties
The base duty of the tariff still applies on top of a Section 232 duty, except where the rate is a total that already includes it ("15% in total"). The Section 301 actions of 2026 on 60 economies and on Brazil exempt goods subject to a Section 232 duty, while the older Section 301 duties on China still apply alongside it. See how Section 301 tariffs work.
How to check a product
- Its code: each family lists the codes it covers in a note of subchapter III of Chapter 99 (note 16 for the metals, note 33 for vehicles and their parts).
- Its facts: the share of metal in its weight and where that metal was produced, its use (some parts are covered only for vehicles), its USMCA qualification, its age for a vehicle.
- Its origin and its date of entry: partner rates, quotas and the dates of each change.
TariffTrust's Section 232 page lists every measure in service with its rate, its countries and its products. The calculator applies them for your code, origin and date, and asks only the questions that change the result: whether the goods contain steel, in which country it was melted and poured, whether the metals reach 15% of the weight.
Updated October 30, 2026. General information as of that date, not legal or customs advice: the official texts prevail, and a licensed customs broker can confirm what applies to your goods.