Where US-China Tariffs Stand in September 2026

Updated September 27, 2026: This post was rewritten. It first ran in September 2025 about the August 2025 extension of the US-China tariff truce and a November 10, 2025 deadline. That deadline passed, and most of the tariffs it described are no longer collected. It now covers where US tariffs on Chinese goods stand as of September 27, 2026, and what the truce history means for importers.

A year ago, US importers of Chinese goods were planning around 90-day deadlines. The tariffs that set those deadlines have since been struck down. Other duties on Chinese goods are still in force, and one new one started in July. Here is the current picture, then the history behind it.

What Chinese goods pay as of September 27, 2026

Duty depends on the 10-digit HTS line, the country of origin and the entry date. For goods of Chinese origin the layers are:

• The normal duty for the HTS line, from free upward.
• Section 301 list duties where the line is listed: 25% on Lists 1 to 3, 7.5% on List 4A, and 25%, 50% or 100% on product groups raised in the 2024 four-year review.
• A 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor duty on products of China since July 24, 2026, added on top of any list duty. Goods under the Section 232 headings named in HTS 9903.05.90 are exempt from it, but not from the list duties.
• Section 232 duties on covered goods such as steel, aluminum, copper, vehicles and parts, and wood products, at the same rate for every origin unless a proclamation says otherwise.
• Antidumping and countervailing duties where a Commerce order covers the product.

What is no longer collected: the IEEPA "fentanyl" and "reciprocal" tariffs, which stopped for goods entered from February 24, 2026, and the 10% Section 122 surcharge, which ran from February 24 to July 24, 2026. The full stack, with Chapter 99 numbers, is on our US tariffs on China page.

How the truce got here

2025: from 145% to a one-year arrangement

• February to April 2025. The US added a 10% IEEPA duty on Chinese goods over fentanyl, raised it to 20% on March 4, and then stacked a reciprocal tariff that reached 125% on April 10. Together that was 145% on top of normal and Section 301 duties.
• May 14, 2025. After talks, the reciprocal rate dropped to 10% for 90 days, leaving 30% in IEEPA duties.
• August 2025. Executive Order 14334 extended that suspension to November 10, 2025. This is the extension the original version of this post covered.
• October 30, 2025. Presidents Trump and Xi met in Busan, South Korea. The White House announced the resulting deal on November 1.
• November 10, 2025. The fentanyl duty was cut to 10% and the reciprocal suspension was extended to November 10, 2026. USTR also suspended its Section 301 port fees on Chinese-linked vessels for one year, through November 9, 2026. The White House said China would suspend the retaliatory tariffs it had announced since March 4, 2025 and the rare-earth export controls it announced on October 9, 2025.
• December 1, 2025. USTR extended 178 Section 301 product exclusions through November 9, 2026.

2026: the court ruling and what replaced IEEPA

• February 20, 2026. The Supreme Court held in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. An executive order signed the same day ended the IEEPA duties and stated that Section 232 and Section 301 duties were not affected. CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties on goods entered from February 24.
• February 24 to July 24, 2026. A 10% Section 122 surcharge applied to most imports for 150 days. China had no separate rate.
• May 6, 2026. USTR opened the second four-year review of the China Section 301 lists.
• July 24, 2026. The 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor duty on products of China took effect, the day the Section 122 surcharge ended.
• September 23, 2026. As President Xi began a state visit to Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides would extend the arrangement reached in Busan, due to end on November 10, until January 10, 2027. As of September 27, no formal documents on the extension had been published.

What it means for importers

Refunds for IEEPA duties already paid

CBP refunds valid claims for IEEPA duties, with interest, through CAPE Declarations in ACE. Only the importer of record, or the licensed customs broker that filed the entries on its behalf, can file one. A Chinese supplier that was not the importer of record cannot. Our tariff refund guide covers the steps and deadlines.

Dates to watch

• November 9, 2026: the 178 Section 301 exclusions and the suspension of the vessel port fees run to this date. Watch for Federal Register notices carrying them forward to January 10, 2027, and do not assume an exclusion continues until one is published.
• January 10, 2027: the new end date Treasury announced for the Busan arrangement.
• The second four-year review: it can change which Section 301 lines pay which rate. Our Section 301 guide tracks it.

Quote on the rules in force, not the headlines

Many landed-cost quotes built in 2025 still include the 30% IEEPA stack, and some built earlier this year include the Section 122 surcharge. Rebuild them on today's layers: the normal duty, the Section 301 list duty, the 12.5% forced-labor duty and any Section 232 or AD/CVD duty. The history above also shows that announcements come first and legal documents later, sometimes weeks later. A tariff changes on the date in the executive order, proclamation or Federal Register notice, not the date of the press conference.

Check the supply chain as well as the rate

Section 301 duties follow country of origin, not country of export, so shipping Chinese goods through a third country does not by itself change the duty. Whether processing in another country changes the origin is a legal question for a licensed customs broker. Goods linked to Xinjiang face a separate import ban under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, whatever the tariff rate.

Airlift USA is a licensed NVOCC, not a customs broker. We move freight from Chinese ports to the US and arrange customs entries through licensed customs broker partners. Before you commit a purchase order, run the HTS line through the tariff simulator linked from our China page.

Need to rebuild a landed cost for Chinese goods? Talk to an Airlift expert.