China is the largest source of US imports and carries the most layered tariff treatment of any trading partner — which is exactly why importers so often mis-estimate it. There is no single "China rate." What you owe is a stack of separate measures that each attach for a different reason, in a specific order. This guide shows you the exact stack as it stands in 2026 (after Section 122 expired on July 24 and was replaced by the Section 301 forced-labor tariff), walks real dollar examples, and flags the refund a lot of China importers don't realize they're owed on their 2025 entries.
The 2026 China tariff stack, layer by layer
Duty on Chinese goods is built from up to four layers. (1) The MFN base rate — the normal Harmonized Tariff Schedule rate for the product, anywhere from 0% (most electronics) to 16.5%+ (apparel). (2) The base reciprocal layer — the 10% Section 122 tariff (Feb 24–July 24, 2026) expired at its 150-day statutory limit and was replaced the same day by the Section 301 forced-labor tariff; China sits in the 12.5% tier. (3) Section 301 China tariffs — the product-specific List 1–4 duties of 7.5% to 100% that have applied since 2018 and were not touched by the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling. (4) Section 232 — a flat 50% on steel, aluminum and copper articles (25% on derivatives), assessed on the metal content regardless of origin. Not every layer hits every product, but for most manufactured Chinese goods, layers 1–3 all apply.
Worked example: $10,000 of consumer electronics
Take a $10,000 shipment of consumer electronics (say, HTS 8543 electrical machines). MFN base rate: 0%. Base reciprocal (forced-labor tier): 12.5% = $1,250. Section 301: most electronics sit in the 25% List, adding $2,500. That's a 37.5% effective duty rate — $3,750 — before fees. Then add the Merchandise Processing Fee at 0.3464% of entered value ($34.64, within the $31.67–$614.35 band) and, on ocean shipments, the Harbor Maintenance Fee at 0.125% ($12.50). Total government charge: roughly $3,797, before your customs broker's own brokerage fees. Note this is lower than the pre-ruling IEEPA regime, where the same goods carried a 20% reciprocal layer instead of 12.5%.
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The stacking order people get wrong
Two mistakes cost importers real money. First: assuming the layers are alternatives rather than additive. MFN, the reciprocal base, and Section 301 stack on top of each other on the same customs value — a 25% Section 301 product isn't "25% instead of" the base, it's 25% on top. Second: mis-handling metals. Section 232 does not stack the reciprocal base on the metal content — a wholly-steel article from China is assessed at 50% (Section 232), not 62.5%. Get the classification and the material breakdown right before you assume a number; a single wrong HTS digit can swing the rate 30 points. Look up your exact code and its published rate with the HTS Code Finder, then confirm the stacked total in the calculator.
Section 301 by product: where your rate actually lands
Section 301 is the layer that varies most, because it's assigned by HTS code across four lists. The 25% bracket covers the bulk of electronics, machinery, chemicals, auto parts, and industrial goods. A 7.5% bracket (List 4A) covers many consumer products and some textiles. Then the strategic-sector rates climb steeply: EV batteries 25%, semiconductors 50%, solar cells and panels 50%, and electric vehicles 100%. Because the rate is code-specific, the only reliable way to know yours is to classify the product precisely — the finder returns the general MFN rate for any code, and your broker or a CBP binding ruling confirms the Section 301 list.
Steel, aluminum, and the Section 232 layer
Section 232 is origin-blind: it applies to steel, aluminum, and copper from every country, China included, at 50% on articles wholly of the metal and 25% on derivative products (goods that merely contain the metal). It survived the SCOTUS ruling untouched and is assessed on the metal content's value. For a Chinese product that is part-metal — say, a machine with a steel housing — the 232 duty attaches to the metal portion while the rest of the value carries the base + Section 301 stack. This is where importers most often either overpay (applying 232 to the whole value) or underpay (ignoring it).
De minimis is gone — this changed everything for e-commerce
The $800 de minimis exemption that let low-value parcels enter duty-free ended for China and Hong Kong first, on May 2, 2025 (and for all countries on August 29, 2025). Every commercial parcel from China now clears as a formal or informal entry with duty owed, no matter how small. For direct-to-consumer sellers and drop-shippers who built their pricing around duty-free sub-$800 shipments, the effective cost of a Chinese order jumped overnight. One origin note that trips people up: routing through Hong Kong does not avoid this — HK-origin goods are treated as Chinese origin under Executive Order 13936, so the same China stack applies.
The refund most China importers are leaving on the table
Between April 2025 and the February 20, 2026 Supreme Court ruling, importers paid the IEEPA reciprocal tariff on Chinese goods — a layer that has now been ruled unlawful. That overpaid amount is refundable from the ~$166B pool CBP is reliquidating through the CAPE process. If you imported from China in that window, the IEEPA portion of what you paid (separate from Section 301 and Section 232, which stand) is likely recoverable — and on China volumes it adds up fast. Pull your CBP Form 7501 entry summaries for 2025, check the reciprocal line, and confirm eligibility before the reliquidation windows close.
Key Takeaway
There is no single China rate — there's a stack. For most manufactured goods in 2026, expect roughly 37.5% (MFN + 12.5% base + 25% Section 301), climbing far higher for metals, solar, and EVs, and dropping toward 12.5% for the handful of products Section 301 never touched. Classify the product precisely with the HTS Code Finder, run the stacked total in the tariff calculator, and if you imported from China in 2025, check whether you're owed an IEEPA refund.
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