Customs Duty

A customs duty is the tax a government charges on imported goods, calculated as a percentage of customs value (ad valorem) or occasionally per unit, and in the US several duties can stack on the same shipment. The starting point is the MFN rate — the normal-trade-relations Column 1 rate from the HTS, averaging around 3.4% — while goods from the handful of non-NTR countries (Russia, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea) instead pay the punitive Column 2 statutory rates that run far higher. On top of the base, 2026 imports carry the reciprocal layer, which since July 24, 2026 is the Section 301 forced-labor tariff (10% standard, 12.5% for a 46-economy tier) that replaced the expired 10% Section 122 reciprocal tariff, plus any Section 232 metals duties (50% on steel, aluminum, and copper; 25% on derivatives) and Section 301 China duties (7.5% to 100% by product list). For example, a Chinese steel product can stack MFN, the reciprocal layer, Section 232, and Section 301 into an effective rate well above 80% before MPF and HMF — which is exactly why classification and country of origin drive an importer's entire cost structure.