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How Section 301 tariffs work, on China and beyond

The Section 301 duties on goods from China, the 2026 actions on 60 economies, Brazil and Nicaragua, their exclusions and exemptions, and how to tell whether your product owes one.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 lets the US Trade Representative (USTR) act against a country whose trade practices it finds unfair. Its usual answer is an additional duty on that country's goods, written into Chapter 99 of the tariff. For years it meant the duties on goods from China; since July 2026, it also reaches dozens of other economies.

The duties on goods from China

Lists 1 to 3
25% on goods of China whose eight-digit subheadings are listed in U.S. note 20 to subchapter III of Chapter 99, under headings 9903.88.01, 9903.88.02 and 9903.88.03, in force since 2018 and 2019.
List 4A
7.5%, under heading 9903.88.15, on a further list, including many consumer goods such as apparel.
The four-year review
Higher rates of 25%, 50% or 100% on strategic products, such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar cells, batteries and some medical products, phased in from September 27, 2024 to January 1, 2026, under headings 9903.91.
Later actions
A maritime action puts 100% on ship-to-shore cranes and intermodal chassis from November 10, 2026. An action on semiconductors, taken in December 2025, starts at 0% and is to rise on June 23, 2027, to a rate the USTR will announce.

Exclusions. The USTR excluded some products from these duties, each described in words in the notes. The exclusions still in force, under headings 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70, are extended through November 9, 2026: from November 10, the goods they cover owe the duty again, unless the USTR extends them once more.

The 2026 actions on 60 economies

After investigations into whether 60 economies prohibit the import of goods made with forced labor, the USTR imposed duties on all their goods, for goods entered from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026:

  • 10% on goods of 17 economies, among them Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia and Malaysia;
  • 12.5% on goods of the others, China among them;
  • for some economies, the rate includes the base duty: the European Union and Taiwan at 10%, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland at 12.5%. The Section 301 duty only tops the base duty up to that rate, and adds nothing when the base duty already reaches it.

The exemptions are many: goods subject to a Section 232 duty, donations, informational materials, accompanied baggage, raw materials and other products listed in the notice, goods of Canada and Mexico entered free under the USMCA, some textiles and apparel under CAFTA-DR, and product lists for particular countries. Under these headings, 9903.05.31 for China for example, each country has its own; U.S. note 52 to subchapter III of Chapter 99 holds the rules.

Brazil and Nicaragua

  • Brazil: 25% on its goods from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 22, 2026, with exemptions of the same kinds (U.S. note 50). Brazil is also one of the 60 economies above, and the notes say how the two measures combine.
  • Nicaragua: a duty phased in on its goods that do not originate under CAFTA-DR: 0% in 2026, 10% from January 1, 2027, and 15% from January 1, 2028.

Does your product owe a Section 301 duty?

  1. Its country of origin: where it was made, not where it was shipped from. Section 301 duties are by country.
  2. Its code: for the duties on China, look for its eight-digit subheading in the lists of the notes; the 2026 actions reach every product of their economies, except those exempted.
  3. The exceptions: an exclusion that describes your product, an exemption of the 2026 actions, a Section 232 duty that already applies.
  4. The date of entry: rates, lists and exclusions all have their dates.

Several Section 301 duties can apply to the same goods, such as List 4A and the 2026 rate on a cotton T-shirt from China, and each is reported under its own 9903 number. TariffTrust's Section 301 page lists every measure in service with its rate, its countries and its products, and the calculator applies all of them, with their exceptions, for your code, origin and date of entry. To read a heading yourself, see how to read a Chapter 99 heading.

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.

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