Working out what you will pay to import from China is no longer a single rate lookup. Several duty programmes can apply to the same entry, and they stack. The arithmetic is not difficult once you know which layers exist — the mistake most importers make is assuming the base rate is the answer.
General guidance, not customs advice. Rates change and your position turns on your specific classification and origin — confirm with a licensed customs broker before relying on a number.
The short answer
US import duty is customs value × the applicable rate(s), where the rate is the sum of every programme that applies to your HTS code and country of origin. For Chinese-origin goods in 2026 that commonly means a base HTS rate + Section 301 + possibly Section 232, plus the merchandise and harbour maintenance fees. Classification and origin drive everything, so get both right before you order.
Step 1 — Classify the product
The HS code, extended to a 10-digit HTS code in the US, determines the base rate and which programmes apply. This is the single highest-leverage number in the calculation and the one importers most often guess. Start with how to find the right HS code and the HS code lookup. Where classification is genuinely ambiguous, CBP issues binding rulings — slow, but definitive, and worth it for a product you will import repeatedly.
Step 2 — Establish the customs value
Generally the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods. Two points importers get wrong:
- Additions. Tooling or moulds you supplied free, design work performed abroad, and royalties tied to the goods are commonly dutiable additions even when invoiced separately.
- Freight. The US generally assesses duty on an FOB-equivalent basis, so international freight and insurance are typically not in the dutiable value — unlike many CIF-basis countries. Your Incoterm affects what the invoice contains, so make sure the value declared is the goods value.
Step 3 — Add every layer that applies
| Layer | What it is |
|---|---|
| Base HTS duty | The ordinary rate for the code — often low, sometimes zero |
| Section 301 | China-specific measures, plus the 2026 replacement duties applied broadly after the Section 122 expiry |
| Section 232 | Product-based: steel, aluminium, copper, autos, semiconductors, lumber — applies by product regardless of origin |
| Anti-dumping / countervailing | Product- and producer-specific, and can be very large. Check before ordering. |
| MPF and HMF | Merchandise processing fee, and harbour maintenance fee on ocean entries |
The current legal picture — including which programmes survived the 2026 IEEPA ruling and what replaced the ones that did not — is in US tariffs in 2026.
Step 4 — Do the arithmetic
A worked shape, using illustrative rates only:
- Goods value: $40,000
- Base HTS duty at 3.7%: $1,480
- Section 301 at 10%: $4,000
- MPF at 0.3464% (subject to statutory min/max): ~$139
- HMF at 0.125% on ocean: $50
- Total ≈ $5,669, against a base-rate-only estimate of $1,480
That gap — roughly 3.8× — is why base-rate estimates mislead. Substitute your own verified rates; the structure is what matters.
Step 5 — Get country of origin right
Origin is where the goods were substantially transformed, not where they shipped from. Assembly in a third country does not automatically confer origin, and origin-based duties make this the highest-value compliance question in the business. Keep signed supplier declarations, not email assurances — the record-keeping is in customs audit readiness.
Then budget landed cost
Duty is one line. Landed cost adds freight, insurance, brokerage, destination charges and delivery — the method is in landed cost forecast checks, and the customs process itself in how customs clearance works.
For the freight half of the number, post a freight request and compare all-in quotes.
