Section 301 China Tariffs: Lists, Rates and the 2026 Review*
Last updated October 9, 2026·By the ExportSonar team*
Short answer: Section 301 duties are additional ad valorem tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on broad lists of China-origin products, applied on top of each code's normal duty. The measures have now survived their first statutory four-year review (final action May 20, 2024), seen repeated exclusion extensions, entered a second four-year review initiated May 6, 2026, and were continued by notice published October 7, 2026 — so anyone sourcing from China should treat them as a standing cost input, not a temporary surcharge.*
If you sell electronics, machinery components, furniture, textiles or thousands of other product categories sourced from China into the United States, part of your landed cost comes from a measure announced years before your purchase order existed. This guide explains the mechanism in plain language, tracks the official timeline through late 2026, and tells you exactly where to verify your own exposure.*
The mechanism in one paragraph
Following USTR's investigation of China's acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation, the United States imposed additional duties in tranches beginning in 2018, organized as product lists keyed to 8-digit HTS reporting numbers. Most covered lines carry additional duties of 7.5% or 25% depending on the list, always stacked on top of the ordinary (Column 1) rate for the code. Origin is what counts, not routing: goods produced in China but shipped via a third country generally remain subject unless genuine substantial transformation occurs there.*
Timeline of official actions — verified in the Federal Register
| Date | Action | FR document |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-20 | Final action in the statutory 4-year review: modifications of rates on specified lists and new machinery exclusion process | 2024-11193 |
| 2025-06-05 / 09-02 / 12-01 | Successive notices extending particular product exclusions | 2025-10203, 2025-16733, 2025-21671 |
| 2026-05-06 | Initiation of the second four-year review process | 2026-08806 |
| 2026-10-07 | Continuation of actions — duties maintained pending the review's outcome | 2026-20510 |
All documents retrieved 2026-10-09 from federalregister.gov, the official journal of US government proceedings.
What the review means for pricing decisions
Statutory reviews sound academic until they move your margin. The first four-year review's final action raised rates on certain strategic lists while opening a narrowly defined machinery exclusion channel; the second review, opened in May 2026, will decide the framework's longer-term shape, and until it concludes, the October 2026 continuation notice keeps existing measures operating unchanged. For planning purposes that yields three working rules: budget today's rates as tomorrow's floor; track exclusion windows opportunistically since they periodically extend; and re-check coverage whenever a new Federal Register notice lands, because list composition — not just headline percentages — is what determines whether your exact HTS code is touched.
Exclusions: how relief works in practice
Not every covered shipment must pay the additional duties. USTR grants product exclusions that suspend the Section 301 rate for defined HTS reporting numbers during a set window, and — as the timeline above shows — it has repeatedly extended particular exclusions through 2025 rather than letting them lapse. Two practical points follow. First, exclusion eligibility attaches to the statistical reporting number, which is why classification discipline pays twice: the same code that sets your MFN rate also decides whether an exclusion covers you. Second, exclusions are not automatic refunds; importers claim them at entry or, where duty was already paid, through post-entry processes such as protests under 19 U.S.C. §1514 within its statutory time limits. If your product's exclusion status matters to your margin, verify against the current Federal Register annex rather than a blog summary, because list composition changes while headline rates stay frozen in memory.
Quoted for accuracy: USTR's official tariff-actions page states —
"For assistance or questions with Four-Year Review or Exclusions Process, please contact the Section 301 Hotline at (202) 395-5725."
How to check your own exposure in two minutes
- Pin down your classification using our classification method guide — everything downstream depends on the correct 10-digit code.
- Look up the code in the HTS index and open it in the duty calculator: enter origin China and your shipment value to see the ordinary rate plus trade-remedy context in one estimate.
- Confirm valuation inputs with the FOB/CIF explainer — Section 301 percentages multiply off the same transaction value the rest of your duty uses.
- For edge cases, monitor USTR's exclusion dockets or consult your broker about filing for exclusion treatment where eligible; upcoming foreign measures that reshape sourcing math surface in the WTO ePing notification mirror.
China-side Section 301 exposure reads very differently once enforcement mirrors enter the picture: compare stopped-shipment counts in the UFLPA enforcement statistics.
References
- USTR, China Section 301 Tariff Actions and Exclusion Process — ustr.gov (retrieved 2026-10-09)
- Five Federal Register notices cited in the timeline table above, all retrieved 2026-10-09.
At a glance
- List 3: 10% from Sep 24, 2018 → 25% from May 10, 2019*
- List 4A: 15% from Sep 1, 2019 → 7.5% from Feb 14, 2020*
- Four-year review increases effective Sep 27, 2024 (EV 100%, semiconductors 50%)*
What are the current Section 301 tariff rates on China?
Core list rates stand at 7.5% (List 4A) and 25% (Lists 1-3, after the May 10, 2019 rise from 10%), plus strategic-sector increases from the four-year review: 100% on electric vehicles and 50% on semiconductors effective September 27, 2024. Check the specific subheading — hundreds of Chapter 99 provisions are in force.*
When did the Section 301 China tariffs start?
In three 2018 waves: List 1 ($34 billion) on July 6, 2018, List 2 ($16 billion) on August 23, 2018, and the $200 billion List 3 at 10% on September 24, 2018, which increased to 25% on May 10, 2019 after the planned January 1, 2019 increase was postponed. List 4A followed at 15% on September 1, 2019.*
Are Section 301 duties separate from normal import duty?
Yes. They are additional ad valorem duties layered on top of the ordinary Column 1 MFN rate for the HTS code, so total duty is the sum of both unless an exclusion applies. A 5% MFN line under a 25% list pays roughly 30% before any other Chapter 99 measure stacks further.*
Do Section 301 duties depend on where the goods ship from?
They attach to Chinese origin, not to the shipping route. Goods transshipped through a third country remain China-origin unless they qualify under substantial transformation per 19 CFR Part 134, so routing through Vietnam does not by itself remove the duty; CBP ruling literature shows the test applied case by case.
Can Section 301 exclusions reduce my duty today?
Exclusion windows have opened and closed repeatedly since 2020. Under the September 2024 USTR modification, machinery exclusions were considered through 2025 and solar-equipment exclusions applied retroactively from January 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025. Current eligibility lives in the Federal Register — verify before relying on any exclusion.
Primary sources: USTR — Section 301 China tariff actions · CBP CROSS classification rulings · USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — republished with provenance by exportsonar.com