Official article description
Certain articles of steel, as provided for in subdivisions (c)(iii) and (h) 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(c)(iii) and (h); the enumerated scope lives in that note, not in the description above.
How this heading is treated
- Treatment: Additional duty in the Special subcolumn only. Column 1 General reads “no change”, Column 1 Special reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 25%”, and Column 2 reads “no change”.
- Metals reached: Certain steel articles.
- Origin condition: Any origin, but only where a preference program is claimed.
- Controlling note: U.S. note 16(c)(iii) and (h), in the legal notes to subchapter III of Chapter 99.
The only headings in the range whose duty sits in the Special column
9903.82.18 and 9903.82.19 are structurally different from every other line in the 9903.82 range: their additional 25 percent appears in the Special subcolumn while Column 1 General and Column 2 read “no change”. Special rates are program-conditional — they apply only where the entry claims a preference program whose symbol is listed for the ordinary subheading — so this heading reaches an entry that is claiming preferential treatment and removes part of the benefit rather than taxing the general rate.
A Column 1 comparison will report no exposure, and be wrong
A duty model built only from Column 1 General shows no Section 232 impact here, precisely for the entries expected to be cheapest. The same blind spot bites automated source diffs: the live export returns a lowercase “no change” in the general and Column 2 fields of this heading and of 9903.82.19, so a revision-to-revision comparison that reads only the general field reports false drift on these two and silently misses the duty that is actually there.
Frequently asked questions
Why does 9903.82.18 show a duty only in the Special column?
Because the additional 25 percent is attached to preferential treatment rather than to the general rate. In 2026 HTS Revision 15, read August 7, 2026, Column 1 General and Column 2 read “no change” while Special reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 25%”. An entry claiming a preference program for certain steel articles under subdivisions (c)(iii) and (h) of U.S. note 16 therefore loses 25 percentage points of the benefit.
Will a Column 1 General comparison catch the 9903.82.18 duty?
No, and that is the trap. Reading only the General column returns “no change” for this heading and for 9903.82.19. The exposure sits in the Special subcolumn, so a duty model or an automated revision diff that reads only the general field reports no Section 232 impact — and reports false drift on these two headings, whose general and Column 2 fields carry a lowercase “no change” in the live export.
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(c)(iii) and (h) 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 9903.82.18 (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.