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Section 301

9903.88.01: China Section 301 List 1 — plus 25 percent.

9903.88.01 is the Chapter 99 line for China Section 301 List 1. In 2026 HTS Revision 15, read August 8, 2026, Column 1 General reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading plus 25%,” so the 25 percent stacks on the ordinary rate rather than replacing it. Scope is set by U.S. note 20(a); the 8-digit subheadings it reaches are enumerated in U.S. note 20(b).

Source: USITC 2026 HTS Revision 15Refreshed Aug 8, 2026Reviewed by Tariff SentinelLast reviewed Aug 8, 2026Official source Spotted an error?
Column 1 GeneralThe duty provided in the applicable subheading plus 25%
Column 1 SpecialNo separate entry in the schedule
Column 2No separate entry in the schedule
Scope set byU.S. note 20(a) and 20(b)

Official article description

Except as provided in headings 9903.88.05, 9903.88.06, 9903.88.07, 9903.88.08, 9903.88.10, 9903.88.11, 9903.88.14, 9903.88.19, 9903.88.50, 9903.88.52, 9903.88.58, 9903.88.60, 9903.88.62, 9903.88.66, 9903.88.67, 9903.88.68, or 9903.88.69, articles the product of China, as provided for in U.S. note 20(a) to this subchapter and as provided for in the subheadings enumerated in U.S. note 20(b) [to this subchapter]

Transcribed verbatim from the live USITC export for 2026 HTS Revision 15 on Aug 8, 2026. The heading text points to U.S. note 20(a) and 20(b); the enumerated scope lives in that note, not in the description above.

How this heading is treated

  • Treatment: Additional duty on top of the ordinary subheading rate.Column 1 General reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading plus 25%”, Column 1 Special reads “No separate entry in the schedule”, and Column 2 reads “No separate entry in the schedule”.
  • Metals reached: Not metal-scoped — coverage is by 8-digit subheading, not by material.
  • Origin condition: Products of China.
  • Controlling note: U.S. note 20(a) and 20(b), in the legal notes to subchapter III of Chapter 99.

The one word in this heading that a duty model most often drops

Column 1 General for List 1 reads “plus 25%”, not “25%”, and the difference is the whole duty. The other three Section 301 rate headings say “+ 25%” or “+ 7.5%” — the same instruction written with a symbol — but 9903.88.01 is the only one of the four that spells the word out, which is why a transcription that normalises the column into a bare percentage silently converts an additional duty into a replacement rate. On a subheading with a 3.7 percent ordinary rate the correct answer is 28.7 percent; the normalised one is 25 percent, and it is wrong in the importer's favour, which is the direction CBP recovers on. Read the column text, not a parsed number.

Seventeen headings displace this line, and sixteen of them are dead

The article description opens with the longest carve-out list of any Section 301 rate heading: seventeen headings take precedence over 9903.88.01. That length is historical rather than operational. Sixteen of the seventeen are exclusion headings whose own windows have closed — the 2020-era .50 through .62 group, and .66 through .68, which lapsed between November 2021 and June 2024. Only 9903.88.69 still reaches entries made now, and it does so through November 9, 2026. A review that walks all seventeen in order is doing fifteen minutes of work that one heading settles; a review that skips the clause entirely can miss the one live exclusion. Check the entry date against 9903.88.69 first, then treat the rest as archive.

Why the July 6, 2026 anniversary did not end this heading

List 1 traces to USTR's July 6, 2018 action, which is one of the two actions under statutory four-year review since USTR published the initiation notice at 91 FR 24636 on May 6, 2026. The continuation-request window for that action closed July 5, 2026, and July 6, 2026 was the date the action would have terminated absent a qualifying request. It did not: the heading is still in the schedule, with its rate column unchanged, as read from 2026 HTS Revision 15 on August 8, 2026. The 2022 precedent is the reason to expect that silence — USTR's first-review continuation notice published 65 days after the equivalent docket closed and stated retroactively that the action had not terminated. Keep reporting the overlay until an official notice says otherwise.

Headings that displace this one

The article description opens with an “Except as provided in headings” clause, so 17 headings take precedence over 9903.88.01. Rule them out before applying the treatment above.

Only the 6 9903.88 headings read line by line against 2026 HTS Revision 15 have a page here. The headings above without a link are cited to the official lookup instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is 9903.88.01 an additional 25 percent or a flat 25 percent?

Additional. Column 1 General reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading plus 25%” in 2026 HTS Revision 15, read August 8, 2026, so the 25 percent is added to the ordinary Column 1 rate for the product's own 8-digit subheading. A List 1 good with a 3.7 percent ordinary rate pays 28.7 percent in total duty, not 25 percent, before the merchandise processing fee and any AD/CVD.

Which note actually lists the codes covered by List 1?

U.S. note 20(b). The heading text names two subdivisions and they do different jobs: 20(a) states the scope of the action, and 20(b) enumerates the 8-digit subheadings the duty reaches. A code is on List 1 because it appears in the 20(b) enumeration — not because a trade-press list says so, and not because the product resembles something else that is covered.

Does my product still owe List 1 duty if an exclusion heading names it?

Not if the exclusion heading covers the product description and the entry date. Seventeen headings are named ahead of 9903.88.01 in its own text, but only 9903.88.69 reaches entries made now, and only through November 9, 2026. Eligibility is set by the product description in the U.S. note subdivision the exclusion heading references, not by the 8-digit code alone.

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 20(a) and 20(b) against the article, then select the heading. Coverage here is by enumerated 8-digit subheading rather than by material or product family, so a neighbouring code in the same four-digit heading can sit on a different list at a different rate.

For the 9903.88 map in one table, see China Section 301 Tariffs 2026 Review, which lists the headings with their treatment and cited subdivision. To be told when the range changes, see China Section 301 alerts. For how a Chapter 99 overlay sits on top of the ordinary duty columns, see What should importers know about Section 301 tariffs?.

Sources verified for this heading

Last verified: Aug 8, 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.