Official article description
Effective with respect to entries on or after June 15, 2024 and through November 9, 2026, articles the product of China, as provided for in U.S. note 20(vvv) to this subchapter, each covered by an exclusion granted by the U.S. Trade Representative
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(vvv); the enumerated scope lives in that note, not in the description above.
How this heading is treated
- Treatment: No change to the ordinary subheading rate.Column 1 General reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading”, 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 — eligibility is by granted exclusion, not by material.
- Origin condition: Products of China covered by a USTR-granted exclusion.
- Controlling note: U.S. note 20(vvv), in the legal notes to subchapter III of Chapter 99.
The only exclusion heading that works against every Section 301 list
Of the roughly sixty exclusion headings in the 9903.88 range, this is the one that appears in the opening clause of all four rate headings — 9903.88.01, .02, .03 and .15 each name it. That makes it the first thing to check on any China Section 301 entry regardless of which list the code sits on, and it is the reason a compliance review that starts from the rate heading and stops there is incomplete. The heading does not grant anything by itself: it is the reporting line for an exclusion USTR has already granted, and the granted products are enumerated in U.S. note 20(vvv).
November 9, 2026 is written into the heading, not into a notice
The expiry date sits in the article description itself — “through November 9, 2026” — which is unusual and useful. Most exclusion headings in this range state no window in the heading text at all and push their dates into the referenced note, which is why their status cannot be read off the schedule. Here the schedule answers directly. USTR set the date in the Notice of Product Exclusion Extensions at 90 FR 55232, published December 1, 2025, and the amended heading text is live in 2026 HTS Revision 15 as read on August 8, 2026. Treat November 9, 2026 as a planning date rather than a certainty in either direction: USTR has extended this set before and has said it may consider further extensions.
What a “no additional duty” column does not mean
All three rate columns read as the ordinary applicable-subheading duty, which is the schedule's way of saying the Section 301 overlay does not attach. It is not a statement that the entry is duty free, and it is not a statement about any other program. A product reported under 9903.88.69 still pays its ordinary Column 1 rate, still pays the merchandise processing fee, and can still be subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order, a Section 232 measure, or a separate IEEPA-based duty, each of which is reported on its own line. The exclusion removes one layer of a stack, not the stack.
Frequently asked questions
Is 9903.88.69 still active?
Yes as read on August 8, 2026. The heading text in 2026 HTS Revision 15 covers entries on or after June 15, 2024 and through November 9, 2026, and Column 1 General reads “The duty provided in the applicable subheading.” It is one of only two exclusion headings in the 9903.88 range that still reach current entries; every other heading in the range that states its own window has lapsed.
Can I claim 9903.88.69 just because my product is on an exclusion list?
Only if the exclusion is one USTR granted and is enumerated in U.S. note 20(vvv), and only if the entry date falls inside the June 15, 2024 to November 9, 2026 window. The heading is a reporting line, not a grant. Eligibility follows the product description in the note, which can be narrower than the 8-digit subheading it sits under, so read the note text against the article rather than matching on the code.
What happens to entries filed after November 9, 2026?
On the heading text as it stands on August 8, 2026, the exclusion stops reaching entries after that date, and a covered product would revert to its Section 301 rate heading — 9903.88.01, .02, .03 or .15 depending on which list enumerates the code. USTR extended this set once already, at 90 FR 55232, so a further extension is possible. Watch USTR and the Chapter 99 heading text rather than assuming either outcome.
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(vvv) 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
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule lookup for heading 9903.88.69 (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — live export for Section 301 headings 9903.88.01–9903.88.70 (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — completeness probe 9903.88.01–9903.88.99, returning exactly 66 rows (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
- USITC current-release endpoint — 2026 HTS Revision 15 (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
- USTR — Notice of Product Exclusion Extensions, 90 FR 55232 (December 1, 2025), setting the November 9, 2026 expiry carried in the 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70 heading text (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
- USTR — Initiation of Second Four-Year Review Process, 91 FR 24636 (May 6, 2026), covering the China Section 301 actions (retrieved Aug 8, 2026)
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.