What are Section 301 tariffs?
Section 301 (19 U.S.C. 2411) lets the US Trade Representative act against trade practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden US commerce. After its investigation of China's technology-transfer practices, USTR imposed additional duties in four lists: List 1 (July 2018) and List 2 (August 2018) at 25%, List 3 (September 2018 at 10%, raised to 25% in May 2019) and List 4A (September 2019 at 15%, cut to 7.5% in February 2020).
Each list is a set of 8-digit HTS lines, and the extra duty is claimed with a Chapter 99 heading reported next to the product's own code, for example 9903.88.01 for List 1, 9903.88.02 for List 2, 9903.88.03 for List 3 and 9903.88.15 for List 4A. Later USTR actions, including the 2024 four-year review, changed rates for specific products and granted or extended some exclusions, so always check the current status of your exact line.
Section 301 duties depend on the country of origin, not on where the goods were shipped from.
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Related terms
- Chapter 99 (HTS)The part of the tariff schedule that holds temporary and additional duties, such as Section 301 and Section 232, as their own 9903 headings.
- Country of origin (substantial transformation)The country where goods were wholly made or last substantially transformed into a new article. Origin decides which rates and additional duties apply.
- Section 232 tariffsDuties or quotas the President can impose under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 when imports are found to threaten US national security.
- Ad valorem dutyA duty charged as a percentage of the goods' customs value, such as 3.4%.