Steel from China: 50% US Tariff (2026)
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What's your China tariff refund score?
The Supreme Court struck down the 2025 IEEPA tariffs and a $166B refund pool is open. See your personalized refund opportunity & filing roadmap.
Illustrative analysis only — not legal, tax, or customs advice. Eligibility and amounts are determined by CBP; filing is handled by licensed professionals.
IEEPA refunds — illustrative, not a personal claim
Paid IEEPA duty on imports of Steel from China in 2025–early 2026?
The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA reciprocal (and fentanyl/trafficking) tariffs on February 20, 2026. The Importer of Record — or the licensed broker who filed the original entries — can seek that IEEPA layer back through CBP’s CAPE process. This is not a consumer check, and it is not a guaranteed amount.
- Who can file: the original Importer of Record (or that entry’s filing broker), not the retail customer.
- Window: IEEPA duties collected from early 2025 through February 24, 2026 (reciprocal rates generally from April 2025; China/Canada/Mexico fentanyl layers started earlier).
- Not refundable: Section 232 (steel/aluminum/autos), China Section 301, MFN base duty, or the current Section 301 forced-labor tariff / EU 15% deal rate.
Illustrative example only: $50,000 of IEEPA-period imports of Steel from China at the published 20% IEEPA rate carried about $10,000 of IEEPA duty. That IEEPA layer — plus statutory interest (6–7% compounded daily under 19 CFR 24.36) — is what CAPE can refund. Your actual figure comes from your 7501s, not this example.
Have not filed
Only the Importer of Record can claim the IEEPA layer through CAPE.
How to claim an IEEPA refundAlready filed
Status is in ACE (REV-615), not a shopping-site tracker.
Check CAPE status · When money arrivesOverview on the tariff-refunds hub. Phase 3 for finally liquidated entries launches October 6, 2026 for CIT plaintiffs only. Illustrative analysis — not a guaranteed amount.
Contingency filing via Tariff Recovery Today (powered by Irongate), in partnership with Master Plan. No recovery, no fee. Not legal advice.
Chinese steel faces a 50% Section 232 tariff on articles wholly of steel, effectively pricing it out of the US market for most applications. Derivative steel articles face 25% on full customs value, and the base surcharge (the Section 301 forced-labor tariff that replaced the 10% Section 122 rate on July 24, 2026) does not stack on the steel content of a Section 232 article — so a wholly-steel article is 50%, not 60%.
The tariff structure: Section 232 tariffs on steel were doubled to 50% in June 2025 (from 25%). As of the April 6, 2026 restructuring, articles wholly or primarily of steel are at 50% while derivative steel articles are at 25%, both assessed on full customs value. Section 301 tariffs technically also apply to Chinese steel, but in practice, the Section 232 rate is the binding constraint, and anti-circumvention rules prevent most Chinese steel from entering regardless of route.
Chinese steel imports to the US have collapsed since Section 232 was first imposed in 2018. From over 3 million metric tons annually before Section 232, Chinese steel shipments to the US dropped to under 500,000 metric tons. The tariff has been effective at its stated goal of reducing Chinese steel imports.
Anti-circumvention enforcement is a major issue. CBP and Commerce have investigated multiple cases where Chinese steel was shipped through third countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand) with minimal processing to evade Section 232. The Enforce and Protect Act and AD/CVD orders provide additional enforcement mechanisms. If you're importing steel from any country, ensure your supply chain doesn't inadvertently involve Chinese-origin material.
For importers who need Chinese-specification steel: domestic US mills (Nucor, US Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs) now produce many grades previously sourced from China. Alternative import sources include South Korea (quota arrangement), Japan (50% on steel articles), EU countries (50%), Brazil (50%), and Australia (10%, exempt from Section 232).
The 50% Section 232 rate is unlikely to decrease — Section 232 enjoys bipartisan support and strong domestic industry lobbying.
Steel Tariffs by Country: Where It’s Cheapest to Import in 2026
China ranks #4 of 13 major steel sources by effective US tariff. Cheapest first — click any country for its full breakdown.
| Source country | 2026 rate | vs. China |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 0% | 50 pts cheaper |
| Brazil | 50% | same |
| Canada | 50% | same |
| China (this page) | 50% | — |
| Germany | 50% | same |
| Italy | 50% | same |
| Japan | 50% | same |
| Mexico | 50% | same |
| Netherlands | 50% | same |
| Spain | 50% | same |
| Taiwan | 50% | same |
| Turkey | 50% | same |
| Vietnam | 50% | same |
Effective 2026 rates for typical goods in this category (MFN base + the Section 301 forced-labor tariff that replaced Section 122 on July 24, 2026, plus Section 301/232 where they apply). Your exact duty depends on the specific HTS code — South Korea is currently the lowest-tariff major source at 0%. Tariffs are one input; weigh freight, lead time, and quality too.
Calculate Your Steel Duty from China
Search by product name or HTS code — the same lookup as the HTS code finder, then we stack 2026 country layers. Prefer a category estimate? .
Frequently Asked Questions
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