US-China tariffs in 2026: what changed and what small importers need to know

Customs & rules · Updated September 2026

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US tariffs on goods from China changed more in 2026 than in any year since 2018, and most of what was written about them in 2025 is now out of date. On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The same day, the IEEPA duties were ordered ended, and a separate, time-limited import surcharge was imposed under a different law. Meanwhile the duty-free de minimis route for low-value shipments was closed for good.

This guide sets out what changed, in order, with the primary source for each step, and what that means for the duty on a shipment from China today. Every date and citation below comes from the Federal Register or supremecourt.gov; the full list with links is on our US import rules timeline. Rates for your specific product still come from its HTS code, so treat this as the map, not the price.

Key takeaways

The Supreme Court held on 20 February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and Executive Order 14389 ended the IEEPA duties on Chinese goods the same day.
Section 301 and section 232 duties were expressly left in place, so the stack for Chinese goods is MFN plus Section 301 where listed, plus any 232 or AD/CVD duties.
A 10 percent section 122 surcharge started 24 February 2026 and by its own terms ran through 24 July 2026 unless Congress extended it; whether it applies depends on the entry date.
IEEPA duties already paid are refunded through a court-ordered CBP process that works from the entry records, so start with whoever was importer of record.
De minimis is gone: every commercial shipment, even under $800, goes through formal or informal entry.
Price landed cost from the full 10-digit HTS code before ordering, and re-price any quote built on 2025 tariff rates.

What changed in 2026, in order

20 February 2026: Supreme Court ruling. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (No. 24-1287), the Court held that IEEPA 'does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.' The tariffs imposed under that act lost their legal basis.
20 February 2026: IEEPA duties ordered ended. Executive Order 14389, Ending Certain Tariff Actions (91 FR 9437), ordered that the additional duties imposed under IEEPA 'shall no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, shall no longer be collected.' The orders it lists include EO 14195, the duties on goods of China tied to the synthetic opioid supply chain, and EO 14257, the reciprocal tariffs. It states that it does not affect duties imposed under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
24 February 2026: a 10 percent temporary surcharge. Proclamation 11012 (91 FR 9339) invoked section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and imposed a 10 percent ad valorem surcharge on imports, for 150 days, effective 24 February 2026. Section 122 caps such a surcharge at 15 percent and 150 days unless Congress extends it by Act.
25 February 2026: de minimis suspension continued. Executive Order 14388 (91 FR 9433) kept duty-free de minimis treatment suspended for all countries.
24 June 2026: de minimis suspended indefinitely for air, ocean and truck. CBP's interim final rule (91 FR 37789) requires every entry of merchandise valued at $800 or less to use formal or informal entry procedures.
8 July 2026: CBP opened the paperwork for court-ordered refunds of IEEPA duties (91 FR 42207), and CPSC electronic certificate filing took effect for regulated consumer products.
24 July 2026: mail lost de minimis too. The parallel rule for the international postal network (91 FR 37801) suspended the $800 exemption for mail and set up a new postal entry process for merchandise valued at $2,500 or less.

How US tariffs on Chinese goods stack now

There is still no single China tariff rate. The duty on a shipment is a stack of separate layers, and which layers apply depends on the HTS code and the date of entry. After the February 2026 changes, the layers to check are:

The normal (MFN) duty: the base rate in the 'General' column of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for your 10-digit HTS code.
Section 301 duties: additional duties on goods of Chinese origin that are named on the US Trade Representative's lists, with the rate depending on the list. Executive Order 14389 expressly left these in place.
Section 232 duties: national-security duties on specific product categories, also expressly left in place by Executive Order 14389.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD): product-specific orders that can apply on top of everything else.
The section 122 surcharge, for entries inside its window. Proclamation 11012 made it additional to other duties, but not on top of the part of an import already subject to section 232 duties, and it exempted the articles listed in its annexes.

What is no longer in the stack: the IEEPA duties. The executive-order rounds added under IEEPA in 2025 have ended, so a quote or cost model that still includes them is out of date.

The layers are additive. As an illustration only, a product with a 5% MFN rate and a 25% Section 301 rate would face 30% before any other layer. The real numbers for your goods depend entirely on the HTS code, which is why finding the right HS code comes before everything else.

The 150-day surcharge and its end date

Proclamation 11012 set its own clock. The surcharge applies to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on 24 February 2026, and continues 'through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026', unless it is suspended, modified or terminated earlier, or unless Congress extends it by Act. Section 122 itself does not allow a longer period without Congress.

Two practical consequences follow. First, whether the surcharge applies to a shipment depends on the entry date, not the date you placed the order or the date the goods left China. Second, before you price an order, ask your broker whether any surcharge applies on the expected entry date rather than relying on a figure from an older quote.

The proclamation also said the surcharge is treated as a regular customs duty, and goods admitted into a foreign trade zone during the period had to be admitted in privileged foreign status, so moving goods into an FTZ did not avoid it.

Refunds of IEEPA duties

Because the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, duties collected under it are being refunded through a court-ordered process. On 8 July 2026 CBP published the information collection for it, the Court-Ordered Refunds Under IEEPA Worksheet (91 FR 42207).

If you paid IEEPA duties on imports from China in 2025 or early 2026, the claim works from the entry records, which the importer of record and its customs broker hold. If a broker filed your entries, ask them which entries carried IEEPA duties and how they are handling the worksheet. If you shipped DDP and someone else was importer of record, the entries are in that party's name, so the question is one for your forwarder.

De minimis is gone for commercial shipments

For small sellers, the de minimis changes matter as much as the tariff rates. Duty-free de minimis for goods of China and Hong Kong was withdrawn on 2 May 2025 (90 FR 17608), then suspended for every country on 29 August 2025 (Executive Order 14324), and made indefinite for air, ocean and truck on 24 June 2026 (91 FR 37789). Mail followed on 24 July 2026 (91 FR 37801).

In CBP's words, merchandise valued at $800 or less 'must utilize formal or informal entry procedures'. There is no value floor below which a commercial import skips customs any more. The entry thresholds themselves are unchanged: informal entry up to $2,500, formal entry above it, and a customs bond for formal entries.

Tariff engineering: is it worth it?

Some importers consider changing the country of origin (manufacturing in Vietnam, Mexico, or India instead of China) or using bonded warehouses and foreign trade zones to defer duty. These are legitimate approaches with real compliance requirements.

For small importers, the math often does not justify the complexity. Sourcing from a new country means new supplier relationships, new quality unknowns, and new freight patterns. Deferring duty in a bonded warehouse still means paying it eventually. And 2026 showed that the rates themselves can move faster than a supply chain can.

The simpler lever is usually accurate HS classification. Goods classified under a higher-rate code pay more duty than the rules require. A correct classification is not tariff avoidance, it is paying the right rate.

How to keep landed cost predictable

With the tariff picture changing this often, the only way to protect your margin is to price landed cost in before you order, not after the goods arrive.

Confirm the HS code for your product before placing an order. The code drives the duty rate.
Look up the current MFN rate and any Section 301 or AD/CVD duties for that code using the USITC tariff database, and ask your broker to confirm the full stack for your expected entry date.
Throw out any cost model or quote that still includes IEEPA duties, and re-price it.
Get an all-in freight quote that bundles freight, customs, broker, and delivery, so the freight side has no surprises. The landed cost guide shows how the pieces add up.
Add the duty estimate to your cost model before you approve the order.

FAQ

Are the 2025 IEEPA tariffs on Chinese goods still in effect?

No. On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and Executive Order 14389 of the same day ordered the IEEPA duties ended and no longer collected as soon as practicable. That covered the China duties under EO 14195 and the reciprocal tariffs under EO 14257. Section 301 and section 232 duties were not affected.

How high are US tariffs on Chinese goods in 2026?

It depends entirely on the product. Since February 2026 the stack is the MFN rate, plus Section 301 duties if your HTS code is on a Section 301 list, plus any section 232 or AD/CVD duties, plus the section 122 surcharge for entries inside its window. The only reliable answer is the current rate for your specific 10-digit HTS code, confirmed by a broker for your entry date.

What was the 10 percent import surcharge?

Proclamation 11012 imposed a temporary 10 percent ad valorem surcharge under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective 24 February 2026. By its own terms it ran through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 24 July 2026, unless ended earlier or extended by an Act of Congress. It applied on top of other duties, except on the part of an import already subject to section 232 duties, and some articles were exempted.

Can I get a refund of IEEPA tariffs I paid?

Refunds of duties collected under IEEPA run through a court-ordered process. CBP published the information collection for it on 8 July 2026 (91 FR 42207). The claim works from the entry records held by the importer of record and its broker, so talk to the broker who filed your entries. If you bought DDP, the forwarder or its partner was probably the importer of record, so ask them.

What is the difference between Section 301 tariffs and regular import duties?

Regular import duty, the MFN (Most Favored Nation) rate, applies to imports from all countries and is set by the HTS schedule. Section 301 tariffs are an additional layer on goods originating in China, imposed from 2018 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Both stack: if a product carried a 3% MFN rate and a 25% Section 301 rate, its combined duty from China would be 28%, while the same product from another origin would pay only the 3% MFN rate.

Do tariffs apply to goods manufactured outside China but shipped through China?

Origin is what matters for tariffs, not the routing. If goods were substantially transformed in China, they are Chinese-origin and subject to Section 301 tariffs, regardless of whether they shipped through a third country. Goods made elsewhere but shipped through China may be treated as Chinese-origin if there is evidence of transshipment or insufficient processing. A false country-of-origin declaration is a serious violation, so declare the country where the goods were actually made.

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