Question 1

How is US import duty calculated in 2026?

Accepted Answer

As of August 2026, total US import duty is the sum of (1) the base HTS most-favored-nation rate found at hts.usitc.gov, (2) any Section 301 China-origin add-on tariff (typically 25%, higher on EVs, batteries, and semiconductors), (3) the Section 301 forced-labor duty of 10% or 12.5% that has applied to goods of 60 economies since July 24, 2026, (4) any Section 232 metals add-on (50% on primary steel, aluminum and copper, 25% on derivatives, charged on full customs value), plus (5) the Merchandise Processing Fee at 0.3464% (min $33.58, max $651.50 per entry), and (6) the Harbor Maintenance Fee at 0.125% if the shipment enters by ocean. Broker fees and any AD/CVD orders are on top of that. The 2025 IEEPA reciprocal tariffs are no longer in the stack — the Supreme Court held in February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. This calculator stacks the current layers into a single estimate.

Question 2

What is Section 301 and which Chinese goods are affected in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is the legal authority USTR has used to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese-origin goods since 2018. As of 2026, virtually all goods on Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4A face a 25% Section 301 tariff. The May 2024 USTR modifications and Sept 2024 final action raised select categories higher: electric vehicles to 100%, lithium-ion EV batteries to 25%, semiconductors to 50% (phased in 2025), solar cells to 50%, certain medical PPE to 25%, and ship-to-shore cranes to 25%. List 4B was never implemented. Section 301 stacks on top of the base HTS rate and any other tariffs.

Question 3

What happened to the 2025 IEEPA reciprocal tariffs — and can I get a refund?

Accepted Answer

They are gone. On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the President authority to impose tariffs, and the Court of International Trade subsequently ordered CBP to liquidate or reliquidate non-final entries without IEEPA duties. CBP is processing those refunds through a purpose-built system (CAPE), which opened its first phase in April 2026; billions have already been refunded with interest, and the government's appeal of the refund order is still working through the courts. If you paid IEEPA reciprocal or fentanyl-trafficking duties in 2025 or early 2026, the refund path runs through your entry records and your customs broker — start by identifying which of your entries are still unliquidated. The temporary Section 122 surcharge that briefly followed also expired, by operation of law, on July 24, 2026.

Question 4

What is the Section 301 forced-labor tariff and does it apply to my goods?

Accepted Answer

It is the duty layer that replaced the expired Section 122 surcharge at 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 24, 2026. Following Section 301 investigations into 60 economies — together roughly 99% of US imports by value — USTR imposed an additional duty of 10% on goods of economies that have a forced-labor import prohibition on the books but do not yet effectively enforce it (including Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan, plus several reciprocal-trade partners), and 12.5% on goods of every other covered economy, including China, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Korea and the UK. It stacks on top of ordinary duty, existing China Section 301 duties and AD/CVD. Key exemptions: goods entered duty-free under USMCA, CAFTA-DR textiles and apparel, goods already covered by a Section 232 program (steel, aluminum, copper, autos, auto parts, timber), donations for human suffering relief, and the 471 HTSUS subheadings USTR added to the exemption annex after public comment. CBP entry instructions and the Chapter 99 headings are in CSMS #69326983. One mechanic is widely misreported: for the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan the headings set a combined column-1-plus-301 ceiling rather than an add-on, so goods whose ordinary rate already meets the threshold (10% for the EU and Taiwan, 12.5% for Japan, Korea and Switzerland) are assessed no additional duty at all. This calculator applies that ceiling rule automatically for those five origins rather than adding a flat rate. The action is being challenged in court, so confirm current status with your broker.

Question 5

How are MPF and HMF calculated?

Accepted Answer

The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is 0.3464% of the entered value with a $33.58 minimum and a $651.50 maximum per formal entry (FY2026 CBP user fee schedule). The Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) is 0.125% of the cargo value and only applies to ocean cargo — air shipments do not pay HMF. Both fees are non-deductible from import duty (you pay them in addition). On a $100,000 ocean entry, that's $346.40 MPF capped at $651.50 plus $125 HMF, so $476.40 in user fees before any duty.

Question 6

What is a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) and how does it reduce duty?

Accepted Answer

A Foreign Trade Zone is a CBP-supervised facility, usually inside or adjacent to a US port, where imported goods can be stored, manipulated, manufactured, or re-exported without being formally entered into US commerce. Duty is deferred until the goods leave the zone for the US market. If the goods are re-exported, no duty is ever paid. If they are processed and emerge as a finished product with a lower HTS duty rate than the components, the importer can elect to pay duty on the finished product instead. FTZ usage saves importers $3 billion+ per year in deferred and avoided duties. Many WarehousingCosts.com 3PL partners operate FTZ-activated warehouses.

Question 7

When does a bonded warehouse make sense versus an FTZ?

Accepted Answer

A bonded warehouse defers duty for up to 5 years on imported inventory. You pay duty only when goods are withdrawn for US consumption. Goods can also be re-exported duty-free. Bonded warehouses are simpler to set up than FTZs (no application to the FTZ Board), but the duty deferral period is finite and you cannot do meaningful manufacturing inside one. FTZs are better for importers with continuous high-volume imports, frequent re-exports, or manufacturing inside the zone. Bonded warehouses are better for project-based or seasonal importers who need duty deferral without a multi-month FTZ activation process.

Question 8

Why is the broker entry fee separate from CBP duty?

Accepted Answer

The customs broker is your private licensed agent who files the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) and ACE entry on your behalf. CBP charges duty and user fees; the broker charges a separate professional fee for filing, classification work, ISF, bond management, and post-entry corrections. Typical 2026 entry fees run $100-$275 for a single-port, single-classification entry, with higher costs for multi-HTS entries, multiple containers, or remote-location entries. Continuous-bond entries and PMS (periodic monthly statement) accounts can lower per-entry fees substantially.

Question 9

What tariffs are NOT modeled in this calculator?

Accepted Answer

This calculator focuses on the major standardized tariffs. It does not model: antidumping (AD) duties or countervailing (CVD) duties, which are case-specific and often 30-300% on top of regular tariffs; Section 201 safeguard duties (washing machines, solar panels); product-specific Section 301 exclusions; agricultural tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) that change in-quota and over-quota rates; the de minimis end for Chinese goods (effective May 2025); and any new actions taken since the calculator was last updated. For high-stakes decisions, always have a licensed customs broker verify the actual duty exposure for your specific HTS code.

Tariff layer	Legal authority	Typical 2026 rate	Notes
Base HTS duty	USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule	0-37.5%	Looked up by 10-digit HTS code at hts.usitc.gov
Section 301 (China lists)	USTR (Trade Act of 1974)	25% / 50% / 100%	China origin only. Lists 1-4A. EVs/batteries/semis at higher tiers.
Section 301 (forced labor)	USTR (Trade Act of 1974)	10% or 12.5%	Effective July 24, 2026 on goods of 60 economies. USMCA duty-free goods, CAFTA-DR textiles and Section 232 goods exempt. CSMS #69326983.
Section 232	Commerce (Trade Expansion Act 1962)	50% primary / 25% derivative	Steel, aluminum, copper — restructured April 6, 2026 to apply to full customs value. The three actions do not stack with each other. Separate programs for autos and timber.
AD / CVD	Commerce + ITC	30-300%	Case-specific. Common targets: steel, solar, chemicals, lumber.
Section 201	USITC safeguard	14-30%	Currently active on solar cells, washing machines.
MPF	CBP user fee	0.3464%	Min $33.58 / max $651.50 per entry (FY2026)
HMF	CBP user fee	0.125%	Ocean cargo only
Broker entry fee	Private (your broker)	$100-$275	Per single-entry filing; lower with PMS / continuous bond

Import Duty & Tariff Calculator (2026)