Guides · checked 26 September 2026
How US tariffs stack in 2026
Section 232, the Section 301 China lists, the 12.5% China country duty that started on 24 July 2026, and IEEPA — which is no longer charged but is being refunded. Each rule below comes with the chapter 99 note it is written in, and every example is a real code.
Five China-origin lines, stacked
HTS 7323.93.00 — Stainless steel kitchenware
2% general + 25% 9903.82.09 = 27%. Section 232 applies, so the 12.5% country duty does not (note 52(f)(1)).
HTS 7323.99.90 — Iron or steel household articles, other
3.4% general + 25% 9903.82.09 + 25% 9903.88.03 = 53.4%. Section 232 and Section 301 List 3 both apply (note 16(b)).
HTS 6911.10.80 — Porcelain and china tableware
20.8% general + 7.5% 9903.88.15 + 12.5% 9903.05.31 = 40.8%. No Section 232: List 4A and the 12.5% country duty both apply.
HTS 9403.20.00 — Metal furniture, including steel shelving (most lines (not .0075 or .0082))
Free general + 25% 9903.88.03 + 12.5% 9903.05.31 = 37.5%. Most lines: List 3 plus the 12.5% country duty.
HTS 9403.20.00 — Metal furniture, including steel shelving (steel shelving .0075 and steel racks .0082)
Free general + 25% 9903.82.09 + 25% 9903.88.03 = 50%. Steel shelving .0075 meeting the 15% steel test: Section 232 replaces the country duty; List 3 stays.
Goods entered on or after 24 July 2026. Rates from HTS Revision 19, chapter 99 and CBP CSMS #69326983; every layer, source and note for each code is on its tariff code page.
The layers that exist in 2026
The general rate (Column 1)
The rate the tariff schedule prints beside the code. It is the only rate most spreadsheets and profit tools ever see — and on many China-origin lines it is the smallest part of the duty.
Source: HTS Revision 19 (USITC), checked 26 September 2026.
Section 232 — steel and aluminium derivatives
Derivative steel and aluminium articles listed in U.S. note 16(c) are charged on the full customs value. For chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76 there is no metal-weight test; outside them — chapter 94 shelving, for example — the charge applies only where the metal is at least 15% of the article’s weight. The pre-2026 aluminium headings 9903.85.01–.15 and .21–.66 were terminated on 6 April 2026 (note 19 compiler’s note); aluminium derivatives now fall under note 16 too.
Source: HTSUS Revision 19 (2026), Chapter 99 (USITC), checked 26 September 2026.
Section 301 — the China lists
Note 20 lists the 8-digit subheadings on each list: List 3 at 25% (9903.88.03), List 4A at 7.5% (9903.88.15). List 4B (9903.88.16) is printed with the compiler’s note “provision suspended” and is not collected. Product exclusions once listed under note 20 for these codes are marked expired in Revision 19.
Source: HTSUS Revision 19 (2026), Chapter 99 (USITC), checked 26 September 2026.
The 2026 China country duty
Applies to products of China entered on or after 24 July 2026 unless an exemption in note 52(b)–(k) applies. The one that matters most for kitchen and home goods is note 52(f)(1): articles of steel, aluminium or copper and the derivatives charged under Section 232 do not pay it.
Source: CBP CSMS #69326983 — Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties (23 Jul 2026), checked 26 September 2026.
IEEPA — no longer collected, now being refunded
CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties on goods entered from 12:00 a.m. ET on 24 February 2026 (CSMS #67834313). Revision 19 still prints heading 9903.01.24 at +10% with no termination note — one reason a calculator built from the HTS text can overstate the duty. IEEPA duty already paid is being refunded through CAPE.
IEEPA tariff refunds explained · Find the IEEPA duty on your own entries
Source: CBP CSMS #67834313 — Ending Collection of IEEPA Duties (22 Feb 2026), checked 26 September 2026.
Section 122 — expired
The balance-of-payments surcharge expired at the close of 23 July 2026 (U.S. note 2(aa) compiler’s note, 91 Fed. Reg. 9339). It no longer stacks on anything entered after that.
Source: HTSUS Revision 19 (2026), Chapter 99 (USITC), checked 26 September 2026.
The stacking rules
Each layer is a percentage of the customs value, so the layers add
Every layer is its own line on the entry summary, each worked on the value of the goods. Adding the rates gives the effective rate — 2% plus 25% is 27%, not 27.5%. Nothing compounds.
Section 232 does not displace the other duties — note 16(b)
U.S. note 16(b): “all antidumping, countervailing or other duties and charges applicable to such goods shall continue to be imposed”. That is why 7323.99.90 from China is 3.4% + 25% Section 232 + 25% List 3 = 53.4%.
But Section 232 goods do not pay the 2026 country duty — note 52(f)(1)
Note 52(f)(1) exempts steel, aluminium and copper articles and the derivatives charged under the Section 232 headings. So stainless kitchenware under 7323.93.00 is 2% + 25% = 27%, not 39.5%.
The metal-weight test only applies outside chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76
The note 16(c) carve-out removes the 15%-by-weight test for chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76. Outside them it applies: 9403.20.0075 steel shelving pays Section 232 only where steel is at least 15% of the weight — 50% where it does, 37.5% where it does not (List 3 plus the country duty instead).
The statistical line can decide it
Section 232 can name individual 10-digit lines. Under 9403.20.00 it names only .0075 (boltless steel shelving) and .0082 (steel racks); every other line carries no Section 232 at all. Which line was filed decides the duty — and choosing that line is your broker’s call.
Printed is not the same as collected
List 4B is printed and suspended. IEEPA heading 9903.01.24 is printed at +10% with no termination note, but collection ended on 24 February 2026. The Section 122 headings expired on 23 July 2026. A tool that reads the schedule text without these notes gets the answer wrong in both directions.
Reading the stack on an entry you have already filed
Your entry summary already carries every layer as its own line. To check what was assessed:
- Take the 10-digit HTS number your broker declared, from the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) or the ES-003 report in ACE.
- Read the general rate printed for that line.
- List the chapter 99 headings the entry carries for that line — each is a separate tariff line with its own duty.
- Check each heading’s status (in force, suspended, terminated or expired) and the exemptions in its note — 16(c) for the metal test, 52(f)(1) for the country duty.
- Add the rates on the value each is charged on, and compare the total with the duty assessed.
This is how to read what was declared, not how to decide it. Which code and which chapter 99 headings go on an entry is your licensed customs broker’s determination. Pull the ES-003 report to see every line at once, or work a shipment through the landed cost calculator or the spreadsheet template.
Every code worked through
- HTS 7323.93.00 — Stainless steel kitchenware: 27% from China
- HTS 7323.99.90 — Iron or steel household articles, other: 53.4% from China
- HTS 7615.10.71 — Aluminum kitchenware and bakeware: 28.1% from China
- HTS 6911.10.80 — Porcelain and china tableware: 40.8% from China
- HTS 6912.00.48 — Ceramic tableware, not porcelain: 22.3% from China
- HTS 3924.10.40 — Plastic tableware and kitchenware: 15.9% from China
- HTS 6302.60.00 — Cotton terry towels and kitchen linen: 29.1% from China
- HTS 9403.20.00 — Metal furniture, including steel shelving: 37.5% or 50% from China
Tariff stacking questions
Do Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs stack?
Yes. U.S. note 16(b) to chapter 99 keeps all other duties in force alongside Section 232, so a line on a Section 301 list pays both. Iron or steel household articles under 7323.99.90 from China: 3.4% general + 25% Section 232 + 25% List 3 = 53.4%.
Does the 12.5% China duty stack with Section 232?
No. U.S. note 52(f)(1) exempts steel, aluminium and copper articles and derivatives charged under the Section 232 headings from heading 9903.05.31. Stainless kitchenware under 7323.93.00 from China is 27% (2% + 25%), not 39.5%.
Does the 12.5% China duty stack with the Section 301 lists?
Yes, where no exemption in note 52(b)–(k) applies. Porcelain tableware under 6911.10.80 from China: 20.8% general + 7.5% List 4A + 12.5% = 40.8%.
Are IEEPA tariffs still charged?
No. CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties on goods entered from 12:00 a.m. ET on 24 February 2026 (CSMS #67834313). IEEPA duty already paid is being refunded, with interest, through a CAPE declaration filed in ACE by the importer of record or its licensed broker.
In what order are tariffs applied?
Order does not change the total. Each layer is a percentage of the customs value and they add; none is charged on top of another. What matters is which layers apply to the line — which the notes, not the order, decide.
Why does the official tariff file show a lower rate than I paid?
The schedule prints the general rate on the line itself; Section 232, Section 301 and the 2026 country duty sit in chapter 99 and attach through its notes. A calculator reading only the line misses them — and one reading chapter 99 without the notes can still count IEEPA, which is printed but no longer collected.
For United States shipments: Supercargo is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business as defined in 19 CFR 111.1. Figures shown for prospective shipments are management estimates on a commodity code you supply. Classification, valuation and entry remain the responsibility of you as importer of record and of your licensed broker, and reliance on Supercargo does not establish reasonable care for the purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1484.
Start with the audit
Your last twelve months of entries, reconciled to the unit, for a fixed £900$1,200€1,050. Credited in full against your first year, and refunded in full if the variance is under 2%.