Shipping Guide
Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, explained
The four lists, the base rates, the 2024 increases and how the layers stack — plus how to check what your specific product owes.
Quick answer: since 2018 the US has applied Section 301 duties of 7.5–25% on roughly $370 billion of Chinese goods across four lists. Strategic categories were raised in 2024 — electric vehicles to 100%, solar cells and semiconductors to 50%, EV batteries to 25%. They stack on normal duty, and your HTS code decides.
What Section 301 actually is
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 lets the United States Trade Representative respond to unfair foreign trade practices with tariffs. Since 2018 it has been the main legal vehicle for US tariffs on Chinese goods, applied at entry on top of the normal duty rate.
Who pays: the importer of record pays the duty to CBP at entry. On FOB purchases that lands on you as the buyer; on DDP it is inside the seller-side quote — either way, the money is priced into the supply chain.
The four lists and the base rates
The original action covered about $370 billion of trade across four lists. Lists 1 to 3 — industrial goods, machinery, electronics and most intermediate products — carry 25%. List 4A, mostly consumer goods such as apparel, textiles and many household items, carries 7.5%.
Whether your product is on a list, and which one, is decided by its 10-digit HTS classification — not by what the product is called.
The 2024 increases — and moving parts
The 2024 statutory review raised strategic sectors sharply: electric vehicles from 25% to 100%, EV lithium-ion batteries and parts from 7.5% to 25%, solar cells to 50% and semiconductors to 50%. Since 2025, further measures have been added and adjusted repeatedly, which makes any single published rate a snapshot.
The practical approach: treat the tariff stack as a per-product lookup, not a headline. Confirm the current total for your HTS line at quote time — it is part of our itemized landed cost.
Finding your rate and planning around it
Your HTS code drives everything: the base MFN rate, the Section 301 layer (visible as 9903-chapter annotations in the tariff schedule) and any additional measures. Classify correctly first — the wrong code means the wrong duty in either direction.
Planning levers that actually work: accurate classification, first-sale valuation where it legitimately applies, timing around confirmed changes, and pricing the duty into your landed cost instead of discovering it at entry. We run the classification check before you commit to a booking.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays Section 301 tariffs — the seller or the buyer?
The US importer of record pays CBP at entry. If you buy FOB or EXW, that is you; on DDP shipments the duty is paid by the party named on the entry and shows up inside the itemized quote. Either way it is part of the landed cost.
Do Section 301 duties stack on normal import duty?
Yes. The 301 layer is additional to the MFN base rate for your HTS code, and post-2025 measures can add further layers. The stack is read from the tariff schedule line by line.
Are there exclusions from Section 301?
Exclusion processes have existed for specific product lines, but they are time-limited and change with each review. Never assume an exclusion is live — verify it for your HTS code before relying on it.
How do I check whether my product pays Section 301 duty?
Classify the product to its 10-digit HTS code, then check the 9903-chapter annotations for that line in the US tariff schedule. Or send us the product description and we run the check as part of the quote.
Need a quote for your shipment?
Tell us the cargo, the container type and where it needs to go. We come back with an itemized rate, usually within 24 hours.