Official article description
Except as provided for in headings 9903.82.12, 9903.82.17 and 9903.85.68, derivative aluminum and steel articles with an ad valorem (or ad valorem equivalent) rate of duty under column 1 less than 15 percent, as provided for in subdivision (f) of U.S. note 16 to this subchapter
Transcribed verbatim from the live USITC export for 2026 HTS Revision 15 on Aug 7, 2026. The heading text points to U.S. note 16(f); the enumerated scope lives in that note, not in the description above.
How this heading is treated
- Treatment: Flat Chapter 99 rate replacing the ordinary Column 1 rate. Column 1 General reads “15%”, Column 1 Special reads “15%”, and Column 2 reads “No change”.
- Metals reached: Derivative aluminum and steel articles.
- Origin condition: Any origin except general note 3(b) countries and Russian-origin derivative steel.
- Controlling note: U.S. note 16(f), in the legal notes to subchapter III of Chapter 99.
Subdivision (f) is a different gateway, not a higher tier of the same one
It is tempting to read 9903.82.10 as 9903.82.07 with a bigger number, but the two are reached through different provisions of U.S. note 16. 9903.82.07 requires the article to be provided for in subdivisions (c)(ix)–(x) and (e); this heading requires subdivision (f). Nothing in the schedule lets an importer pick between them on the basis of which threshold is easier to clear — the note decides which pair is in play, and only then does the rate decide which half of it. A duty model keyed to the rate rather than to the subdivision reaches the wrong heading whenever the notes route the article the other way.
What a flat 15 percent actually does to a low ordinary rate
Because the Column 1 entry reads “15%” rather than the additive phrasing, a qualifying article stops paying its ordinary Column 1 rate and pays 15 percent instead. On an article at a 2 percent ordinary rate that is a 13-point increase; on one at 14 percent it is a single point. The spread is worth modelling across a product line before entry, because the variable driving it is the ordinary rate rather than the Chapter 99 line, and one heading can therefore produce very different landed costs for goods filed on the same Section 232 provision. Column 2 is untouched, so none of this reaches an entry taking Column 2 rates.
Headings that displace this one
The article description opens with an “Except as provided for in headings” clause, so 3 headings take precedence over 9903.82.10. Rule them out before applying the treatment above.
9903.82.12— General note 3(b) origins — plus 25%9903.82.17— Russian derivative steel — plus 25%9903.85.68— outside the 9903.82 range; read it in the official USITC lookup
Tariff Sentinel publishes a page per heading only for the 26 9903.82 headings read directly against 2026 HTS Revision 15. The heading 9903.85.68 above sits outside that range, so it is cited to the official lookup rather than summarised here.
Frequently asked questions
Does an importer get to choose between 9903.82.10 and 9903.82.07?
No. The subdivision of U.S. note 16 the article is provided for in decides which pair applies — subdivision (f) for this heading and its twin, subdivisions (c)(ix)–(x) and (e) for 9903.82.07 and 9903.82.08 — and only then does the rate decide which half of the pair. Treating the two thresholds as options and taking the cheaper one reaches the wrong heading whenever the notes point the other way.
How much does 9903.82.10 add to a low ordinary rate?
It does not add; it replaces. A qualifying article pays a flat 15 percent Column 1 rate in place of its ordinary one, so the effective increase is 15 points minus the ordinary rate — 13 points on an article at 2 percent, one point on an article at 14 percent. Column 2 reads “No change”. Verified against 2026 HTS Revision 15 on August 7, 2026.
How to use this page
A Chapter 99 heading is reported alongside an ordinary Chapter 1–97 classification, never instead of it, so this page is the second half of a two-part answer. Settle the ordinary classification and the country of origin first, then read U.S. note 16(f) against the article, then select the heading. Where a rate threshold is involved, the test runs on the ad valorem equivalent for that entry, which makes it value-dependent rather than a fixed attribute of the part.
For the full 9903.82 map in one table, see Section 232 HTS Codes List & 9903.82 Duty Map, which lists every heading in the range with its treatment and cited subdivision. To be told when the range changes, see Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff alerts. For how a Chapter 99 overlay sits on top of the ordinary duty columns, see how U.S. import tariff layers fit together.
Sources verified for this heading
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule lookup for heading 9903.82.10 (retrieved Aug 7, 2026)
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — live export for Section 232 headings 9903.82.01–9903.82.26 (retrieved Aug 7, 2026)
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — completeness probe 9903.82.01–9903.82.99, returning exactly 26 rows (retrieved Aug 7, 2026)
- USITC current-release endpoint — 2026 HTS Revision 15 (retrieved Aug 7, 2026)
- CBP CSMS 68855869 — Further adjusting Section 232 tariffs for aluminum, steel, and copper (retrieved Jul 29, 2026)
- GovInfo PDF / Federal Register 91 FR 34085 — Proclamation 11032 and annexes (retrieved Jul 29, 2026)
Last verified: Aug 7, 2026. The article description and all three duty columns above were read from the live USITC export for 2026 HTS Revision 15 on that date. USITC published four revisions in fourteen days during 2026, so confirm the controlling heading text, the cited U.S. note subdivision, and your entry date in the official source before filing. Informational estimates only. Verify with a licensed customs broker, trade counsel, or CBP ruling before filing.