Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties : Sanders Brokerage

Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties

Posted by Brion Cortez on Thursday, July 23, 2026 · Leave a Comment

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on July 24, 2026 (9:01 p.m. Pacific time on July 23,2026), the new Section 301 Forced Labor Duties will go into effect. At the same time, the Section 122 tariffs will expire. The tariff rates under Section 301 will be either 10% or 12.5% depending on the country of origin of the goods. There are some exemptions for goods that are in transit on a vessel bound for the US as well as goods covered under a valid USMCA.

For details, please see the Federal Register notice covering this action.

The following is an excerpt from the notice providing a broad overview of the tariffs and exemptions:

“Section 1. Tariffs and Exemptions. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this memorandum, the Trade Representative shall impose the following tariff rates on all goods of the economy for which an act, policy, or practice was found actionable under section 301:

(i) 10 percent tariff rate: The Trade Representative shall impose a tariff of 10 percent on goods of Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and Trinidad and Tobago.

(ii) Tariff rate of 10 percent or 12.5 percent, net of MFN rate: For a product of the European Union or Taiwan, where such product’s MFN tariff is less than 10 percent, the Trade Representative shall impose a section 301 tariff pursuant to these investigations so that the sum of the MFN tariff and the section 301 tariff shall be 10 percent, and where such product’s MFN tariff is greater than or equal to 10 percent, the Trade Representative shall impose a section 301 tariff of zero. For a product of Japan, Korea, or Switzerland, where such product’s MFN tariff is less than 12.5 percent, the Trade Representative shall impose a section 301 tariff pursuant to these investigations so that the sum of the MFN tariff and the tariff imposed pursuant to these investigations shall be 12.5 percent, and where such product’s MFN tariff is greater than or equal to 12.5 percent, the Trade Representative shall impose a section 301 tariff of zero. Capping total duties in this manner is feasible, consistent with the terms of the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade or similar arrangements, and appropriate to encourage these economies to fulfill commitments regarding forced labor import prohibitions or to enact and effectively enforce such a prohibition.

(iii) 12.5 percent tariff rate: For goods of all other investigated economies, the Trade Representative”

We will provide an update as further information is received.

Filed under Current News, HOME, News · Tagged with Forced Labor, Section 301 Tariffs

Comments are closed.

July 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Apr
	1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Value Information Tips

When you ship or send goods to the U.S.A., the question of "valuation" may arise. What you need to know is that the issue of how to value your goods for export to the U.S.A. are part of a very complex law in our U.S. Customs Regulations (CBP).
The U.S. valuation law is very similar to the valuation law first developed and implemented by Canada Customs. The basic bottom line concept on most imports deals with the goods being valued (appraised) at the actual transaction value. That is, the price paid or payable for the merchandise. Transaction value is commonly used in arms length (unrelated) sales where a specific relationship did not impact the price paid or payable for the goods.
The term Related means within the sale of the goods, that actual family relations are involved, or that there are mutual owners in the selling company and purchasing company. CBP feels that family relationship or mutual owners in the seller and the buyer could impact the value paid or payable for the goods..
In related sales, transaction value can still be used, provided it can be proven (via a test case) that the relationship did not impact the price paid or payable for the merchandise.
Further protocol flow of the valuation law is a bit more complex and deals with terms and concepts such as "Transaction Value of Identical or Similar Merchandise", "Computed Value", "Deductive Value", and "402f" (Customs last method of appraisement) when other valuation concepts determined.
The bottom line in this law is making sure that the U.S. Government is receiving it's full amount of duty money's and fees. Undervalued importations could result in a loss of revenue to the U.S. Government to which the government could pursue full reimbursement and penalty actions.
Please remember that declaring a proper value on your shipment for U.S. Customs purposes is a matter of law.

Sanders Brokerage