Section 301 Exclusions Extended to November 2026 — Check If Your Products Qualify
Good news for once: USTR extended 178 product exclusions on Chinese goods through November 10, 2026. If your products are on the list, you're exempt from Section 301 tariffs — potentially saving 7.5-25% on every shipment.
But there's a catch: these exclusions are widely expected to be the last extension. If you're relying on an exclusion, start planning for life without it.
What Got Extended
The exclusions cover specific HTS codes across several categories:
- Industrial equipment and machinery (HTS Chapter 84)
- EV batteries and battery components
- Critical minerals and rare earths
- Semiconductor manufacturing equipment
- Solar cells and modules
- Recycling equipment
- Certain medical devices (HTS Chapter 90)
- Specific plastics and chemicals (HTS Chapter 39)
The full list is published in the Federal Register. Each exclusion is tied to a specific HTS code — not a broad product category.
What This Means in Dollars
If your product qualifies for an exclusion, you avoid the Section 301 tariff (7.5-25%) on top of whatever base duty applies. Example:
| Without Exclusion | With Exclusion | |
|---|---|---|
| Product value | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Base duty (5%) | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Section 301 (25%) | $12,500 | $0 |
| Total duty | $15,000 | $2,500 |
| Savings | $12,500 per shipment |
For an importer making 12 shipments per year, that's $150,000 in annual savings from one exclusion. This is not theoretical — it's money sitting on the table if you qualify and aren't claiming it.
How to Check If You Qualify
- Look up your HTS code on the USTR exclusion list in the Federal Register
- Match exactly. Exclusions are at the 8-digit or 10-digit HTS level. 8471.30 is not the same as 8471.30.01 — the specific subheading matters.
- Verify with your broker. Your customs broker should be flagging eligible exclusions on every entry. If they're not, you may have been overpaying.
- File for refunds. If you've been paying Section 301 duties on excluded products, you may be able to file a Post Summary Correction (PSC) to get refunds on entries from the last 180 days.
The Expiration Risk
USTR has extended these exclusions multiple times since 2022. But trade policy watchers are signaling this is the final round:
- The administration is moving toward permanent tariff structures (Section 301 probes into 16 countries, Section 232 expansion)
- Each extension has been shorter than the last
- The political environment favors tariffs, not exclusions
- No new exclusions are being granted — only extensions of existing ones
If your business depends on a Section 301 exclusion, treat November 10, 2026 as a hard deadline. Either your costs go up 7.5-25% on that date, or you need an alternative sourcing strategy in place.
What You Should Do
- Verify your exclusion status against the current USTR list
- Claim it on every entry — tell your broker explicitly
- File for refunds on past entries where the exclusion wasn't applied
- Plan for November — model your costs with and without the exclusion
- Set up monitoring so you're alerted the moment exclusion status changes for your codes
Source
USTR Exclusion Extension Notice | Supply Chain Dive Analysis
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