Last updated: October 21, 2026

Chemical imports: who holds the Importer of Record role under the Section 301 duties

Chemicals, plastics, and the other articles of Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapters 28 to 39 enter the United States under more than one Section 301 duty, and the rate on a line turns on the 8-digit classification, the country of origin, and, for a short list of products, the use. The party that declares those facts, pays the duty, and holds the records is the Importer of Record (IOR). This page is for compliance, procurement, and finance leaders at companies that import inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, plastics, and the other goods of those chapters. It sets out the duties in force, who typically holds the IOR role in a chemical supply chain, what that party declares, and how a price between related companies is tested. Patented drugs, active ingredients, and key starting materials are covered on the pharmaceutical page, not here.

The short version

Products of China in Chapters 28 to 39 carry an additional Section 301 duty under one Chapter 99 heading. On the USITC reference list current as of January 1, 2026, most of those subheadings are at 25 percent. A smaller set is at 7.5 percent. Nine chemical subheadings are at 25 or 50 percent under the 2024 and 2025 modifications.
On October 7, 2026, USTR announced that the July 6, 2018 and August 23, 2018 China actions, as modified, did not terminate. A further statutory review will be noticed separately.
Since July 24, 2026, goods from the 60 economies in the forced labor investigations have carried a further Section 301 duty of 10 or 12.5 percent, on top of other duties except where an exemption heading applies. For certain chemicals, that exemption is limited to pharmaceutical applications.
The duty is owed on customs value. Where the foreign producer and the United States buyer are related, transaction value is accepted only if the relationship did not influence the price, or the price closely approximates a test value, under 19 U.S.C. §1401a(b)(2)(B).
Royalties for patents covering the process that made the goods are generally dutiable under 19 C.F.R. §152.103(f). The IOR declares the value.

On this page: the duties in force, who holds the IOR role, what the IOR declares, valuation, what changed in 2026, questions.

The Section 301 duties in force today

Two Section 301 actions reach these chapters. They are separate. A product of China can owe both.

The China technology-transfer action. The additional duty on products of China is collected under subchapter III of Chapter 99. The USITC reference list, updated January 1, 2026, assigns one of those headings to each covered 8-digit subheading. The rates below are the Column 1 general rates in the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

Heading	Additional rate	What it covers in Chapters 28 to 39
9903.88.03	25 percent	Most covered subheadings in Chapters 28 to 38, under U.S. note 20(f)
9903.88.02	25 percent	Covered Chapter 39 subheadings are mostly under this heading, under U.S. note 20(d). Some Chapter 39 subheadings are under 9903.88.03 or 9903.88.15. The 8-digit subheading decides the heading.
9903.88.15	7.5 percent	A smaller set of subheadings across these chapters, under U.S. note 20(s)
9903.88.01	25 percent	Four subheadings of heading 2845, under U.S. note 20(b)
9903.91.01	25 percent	Tungsten oxides (2825.90.30), tungstates (2841.80.00), four subheadings of heading 2844, and tungsten carbide (2849.90.30), from September 27, 2024
9903.91.05	50 percent	Polysilicon of 2804.61.00 and doped chemical elements of 3818.00.00, from January 1, 2025

Each of headings 9903.88.01, 9903.88.02, 9903.88.03, and 9903.88.15 applies except where the schedule names a different heading, including a product exclusion. The USITC list says an exclusion granted by USTR is enumerated in U.S. note 20. Headings 9903.91.01 and 9903.91.05 are the headings the schedule uses for the subheadings USTR moved to the higher rates. They are not stacked on 9903.88.03.

The 25 percent rate on the critical-mineral subheadings in the table was set in USTR’s notice of September 18, 2024, 89 FR 76581, for entries on or after September 27, 2024. The 50 percent rate on 2804.61.00 and 3818.00.00 was set in the notice of December 16, 2024, 89 FR 101682, for entries on or after January 1, 2025. On October 7, 2026, USTR gave notice that both underlying actions remain in effect, at 91 FR 64212.

The forced labor action of July 24, 2026. USTR’s notice at 91 FR 47318 imposes an additional Section 301 duty on goods of 60 economies, entered on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026. The rate follows the country of origin: 10 percent for one group of economies, a rate that brings the column 1 duty and this duty to 10 or 12.5 percent for listed economies, and 12.5 percent for the remaining investigated economies. The headings are 9903.05.20 through 9903.05.84. The duty is in addition to the column 1 rate and, except where an exemption heading applies, in addition to other Chapter 99 duties. The forced labor post sets out the groups and the filing order.

Heading 9903.05.89 exempts articles that are for use in pharmaceutical applications and that are classifiable in the provisions listed under that heading. In the same notice, USTR determined to limit the exemption for certain chemicals and chemical products to those pharmaceutical applications. The same article entered for another use is outside that exemption.

An article that is a patented finished drug, an active ingredient, or a key starting material covered by Proclamation 11020 is outside this page. Its Section 232 rate is on the pharmaceutical page.

Who holds the Importer of Record role in a chemical supply chain

On every formal entry one party is named as Importer of Record. Under 19 U.S.C. §1484 that party files the entry using reasonable care. The documentation is filed by the owner or purchaser, or by a licensed customs broker the owner, purchaser, or consignee designates in writing. In chemical trade the role sits in one of three places.

The foreign producer, selling delivered duty paid

The producer enters the goods in its own name. A corporation that is not incorporated in the customs territory of the United States may make a consumption entry only with a resident agent in the state of the port of entry and a bond from a resident corporate surety, under 19 C.F.R. §141.18. It declares the classification, the origin, the Chapter 99 headings, and the value of its own shipments.

The United States affiliate, distributor, or toll customer

A United States company buys the goods and enters them. The price is often a price between related companies, and it is this party that declares that price, any royalty for the manufacturing process, and any assist. It is also the party that claims heading 9903.05.89 when the goods are for a pharmaceutical application.

A United States Importer of Record provider

Where neither the producer nor its customer holds the role, a United States company with the right to make entry is named on the entry under a shipment-specific authorization. The provider holds its own IOR number, bond, and records, and it must be able to support the classification, the origin, the Chapter 99 headings, and the value on every line.

Which party holds the role decides who owes the Section 301 duties on that entry. The who needs a United States Importer of Record page compares the situations side by side.

What the Importer of Record declares on a chemical entry

Classification and the Chapter 99 heading. The entry summary carries the Chapter 28 to 39 classification and the Chapter 99 heading that sets the China duty, when the goods are a product of China and the subheading is on the list. It carries the forced labor heading for the country of origin, unless an exemption heading applies. CBP’s order of headings on the line is set out in the forced labor post.

Use, where the exemption depends on it. A claim under heading 9903.05.89 is a declaration that the article is for use in a pharmaceutical application and is classifiable in a listed provision. The notice limited that exemption to those applications. The IOR’s records are what show the use.

Origin. The China headings apply to products of China. The July 24 headings follow the country of origin of each line. One shipment with two origins carries two headings.

Value. The IOR declares the customs value under 19 U.S.C. §1401a. Under 19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(1) it uses reasonable care in that declaration. Where CBP has grounds to reject a declared transaction value and the rejection would increase the duty, 19 C.F.R. §152.103(m) requires the Center director to state the grounds and gives the importer 20 days to respond in writing.

Valuation decides the duty

Both Section 301 duties on this page are ad valorem. The duty is the rate times the customs value the IOR declares.

Under 19 U.S.C. §1401a the customs value follows a sequential hierarchy beginning with transaction value, the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the United States. The statute adds assists, certain royalties and license fees, and proceeds of later resale that accrue to the seller. Under 19 C.F.R. §152.103(f), royalties or license fees for patents covering processes to manufacture the imported merchandise generally will be dutiable. Whether a particular royalty is added depends on whether the buyer had to pay it as a condition of the sale for export to the United States, and on to whom and under what circumstances it was paid.

Sales between a foreign producer and its United States affiliate are related party transactions. Related parties under 19 U.S.C. §1401a(g)(1) include persons who own, control, or hold with power to vote 5 percent or more of the voting stock of an organization, and persons under common control. Under 19 U.S.C. §1401a(b)(2)(B) and 19 C.F.R. §152.103(j)(2), the related party price is accepted if the relationship did not influence the price, or if the transaction value closely approximates a test value: the transaction value of identical or similar merchandise sold to unrelated buyers in the United States, or the deductive or computed value of identical or similar merchandise. The customs valuation page walks through each method.

What changed in 2026 for chemical importers

Three things in 2026 sit on top of the rates that were already in the schedule.

The China actions continued. The four-year anniversary of the July 6, 2018 action fell on July 6, 2026, and the anniversary of the August 23, 2018 action fell on August 23, 2026. USTR’s notice of October 7, 2026, 91 FR 64212, states that representatives of domestic industries requested continuation of both actions, as modified, and that under 19 U.S.C. §2417(c)(1)(B) the actions did not terminate. The same notice says USTR will publish a separate notice of the review under 19 U.S.C. §2417(c)(3), including an opportunity to comment. No rate change was announced in that notice.

The forced labor duty began, with a narrow chemical exemption. From July 24, 2026, the additional duty in 91 FR 47318 applies by country of origin. USTR limited the exemption for certain chemicals and chemical products to pharmaceutical applications under heading 9903.05.89.

The earlier emergency duties ended, and a temporary surcharge ran its window. Executive Order 14389 of February 20, 2026 ended the duties that had been imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Proclamation 11012 imposed a temporary 10 percent surcharge under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 from February 24, 2026, for up to 150 days. The oil and gas equipment page records that the surcharge did not apply on top of Section 232 duties and that Section 301 duties were unaffected by the order that ended the earlier duties.

Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, signed June 3, 2026 and published at 91 FR 35125, directs further requirements for Importers of Record that remain in rulemaking. The enforcement order tracker carries the current position of each directive. The Form 5106 accuracy enforcement described there has been in effect since September 18, 2026.

See if your shipments qualify

Tell us what you import, which headings your entries are filed under, and who holds the Importer of Record role today. We reply to your work email within one business day. The full form has room for more detail.

Where do you stand (inline form)

Full name

Company

Work email

Phone with country code

Country of your company

What do you import

Country of manufacture

Estimated annual import value

Do you have a US Importer of Record today

Yes

Our customer acts as IOR

Not sure

Next shipment date

Anything else we should know

Frequently asked questions

Do all chemicals from China pay the same Section 301 rate?

No. The USITC list assigns one Chapter 99 heading to each covered 8-digit subheading, so that subheading decides the heading. Most subheadings in Chapters 28 to 38 are under 9903.88.03 at an additional 25 percent. Covered Chapter 39 subheadings are mostly under 9903.88.02 at 25 percent, with some under 9903.88.03 or 9903.88.15. Heading 9903.88.15 is an additional 7.5 percent. The nine subheadings named in the table on this page are at 25 or 50 percent under headings 9903.91.01 and 9903.91.05.

Does the July 24, 2026 duty apply to an industrial chemical?

It applies according to the country of origin, unless an exemption heading applies. Heading 9903.05.89 covers articles for use in pharmaceutical applications that are classifiable in the provisions listed there. USTR limited the chemical exemption to those applications, so the same article entered for another use is not in that exemption.

Does a related party price between a producer and its United States affiliate qualify as transaction value?

Only if the relationship did not influence the price, or the price closely approximates a test value, under 19 U.S.C. §1401a(b)(2)(B) and 19 C.F.R. §152.103(j)(2). If CBP rejects the declared value and the rejection would increase the duty, 19 C.F.R. §152.103(m) requires it to state the grounds and gives the importer 20 days to respond in writing.

Are royalties for a manufacturing process part of customs value?

Under 19 C.F.R. §152.103(f), royalties or license fees for patents covering processes to manufacture the imported merchandise generally will be dutiable. The regulation decides each royalty on whether the buyer had to pay it as a condition of the sale for export to the United States, and on to whom and under what circumstances it was paid.

Can a foreign chemical producer still be its own Importer of Record?

Yes. Under 19 C.F.R. §141.18 a nonresident corporation may make a consumption entry if it has a resident agent in the state of the port of entry and files a bond with a resident corporate surety. The producer is then the party that declares the classification, the origin, the Chapter 99 headings, and the value.

Sources

This page summarizes publicly available federal actions for general information. It is not legal advice. Requirements are subject to change. Verify current requirements against the Federal Register, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and CBP guidance.

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