Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs: PDF List, Rates, Countries, and Effective Date

If you are looking for the Section 301 forced labor tariffs PDF, the official place to start is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance, the Federal Register notice, and the related Chapter 99 HTS materials that list the tariff headings and covered economies. In practice, that means you need the official list to match the Chapter 99 heading, confirm the country of origin, and then check whether your product is covered or excepted.

The key point is that this is not a shipment-specific forced-labor detention notice. It is a country-based tariff programme under Section 301, with additional duties that generally apply to imports from 60 economies unless a product falls under an exception or special treatment.

Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs PDF List: What It Is and How to Read It

The most useful official document for importers is the CBP/Federal Register/HTS Chapter 99 material that ties the new forced-labor duties to specific Chapter 99 headings. CBP’s guidance on Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties tells filers which HTSUS classifications apply, and the attached PDF list provides the Chapter 1 to 97 classifications that correspond to the Chapter 99 headings. The Federal Register notice is the official electronic format for the action and the duty changes.

The practical reading method is straightforward:

1. Find the correct Chapter 99 heading for your entry.
2. Confirm the economy of origin.
3. Check whether the product is subject to the additional duty rate or whether it falls under an exception.
4. File the entry using the correct tariff classification and current CBP instructions.

The tariff list is therefore operational, not just informational. It is designed to be used during customs entry filing, not merely kept as a background reference.

For the official publication format and duty action language, see the Federal Register notice on the Section 301 forced-labor actions.

Section 301 Tariffs by Country: Which Economies Are Covered and What Rates Apply

The new action is country-based. It covers 60 economies, and the additional duties are broadly tied to the country of origin rather than to a single industry or one narrow product line. That is why searchers looking for a country list or a tariff list PDF are really looking for the same core document set: the economy list, the tariff headings, and the exceptions.

According to the USTR and White House materials, the duty structure generally works like this:

• 10% additional duty for trading partners that have made commitments to adopt and effectively enforce forced-labor import prohibitions, or have partial regimes with that effect.
• 12.5% additional duty for trading partners that have failed to adopt a forced-labor import prohibition.

The White House action explains that USTR initiated investigations under Section 301, found the practices actionable, and then imposed the tariffs on the covered economies. See the official action summary in the White House presidential action on the 60-economy Section 301 investigations and the USTR fact sheet, USTR Section 301 action in response to the failure of 60 economies to ban imports produced with forced labor.

Do not assume, however, that every product from every covered economy is automatically subject to the same treatment in every case. The official materials make clear that exceptions exist, and the importer still has to check the product, the origin, and the relevant Chapter 99 heading before filing.

Item	What the importer should check	Why it matters
Country of origin	Whether the product is from one of the 60 covered economies	The new duties are country-based
Chapter 99 heading	The Chapter 99 code in the CBP guidance and HTS list	This is how the additional duty is applied
Duty rate	Whether the goods attract 10% or 12.5%	The rate depends on the economy’s status under the action
Exceptions	Whether the product is excluded or treated differently	Some goods are specifically excepted

When the Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs Started

There are three different dates that matter, and importers should not mix them up. The investigation date is not the same as the final action date, and the final action date is not always the same as the duty-effective date.

1. March 12, 2026 — USTR initiated the Section 301 investigations.
2. June 2, 2026 — USTR determined that the acts, policies, and practices were actionable.
3. July 23, 2026 — USTR announced the final action.
4. July 24, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time — the additional duties generally took effect.

That timing is confirmed in the government materials and supporting commentary, including the CBP guidance and the Federal Register notice. Clark Hill’s summary also notes that the duties apply to covered merchandise entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the effective timestamp.

The transition rule matters for shipments already moving when the action took effect. Under the notice, goods loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit before the effective time were not subject to the additional duties if they were entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption before the later cutoff date stated in the notice.

For a concise legal and timing explanation, see USTR’s Section 301 forced-labor tariff implementation summary.

Why USTR Can Impose Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs

Section 301 is the Trade Act of 1974 authority that allows USTR to address unreasonable acts, policies, or practices that burden or restrict U.S. commerce. The Congressional Research Service explains that Section 301 contains both mandatory and discretionary authority, and that USTR used its discretionary authority for the forced-labor tariff action.

In simple terms, the process ran in three steps:

1. USTR opened the investigation.
2. USTR determined that the conduct was actionable under Section 301.
3. USTR imposed additional duties on imports from the covered economies.

This matters because the tariff action is not the same as a labour-law finding in a domestic employment case. It is a trade-remedy action based on USTR’s view that the failure to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on imports produced with forced labor can burden U.S. commerce.

For the legal background, see the CRS analysis, Legal Authority for Section 301 Tariffs to Address Forced Labor and Excess Manufacturing Capacity.

How This Differs from Older Section 301 Tariffs and Section 122

Many importers searching for Section 301 tariffs are really asking about older China-related tariffs. This article is about the newer forced-labor Section 301 action, not the earlier, product-specific tariff rounds associated with China investigations. The structure is different: this programme is framed around whether economies impose and enforce prohibitions on imports produced with forced labor.

It is also important not to confuse this with the earlier Section 122 context. The research package indicates that a global 10% Section 122 tariff had been used after an IEEPA-related court decision and was expected to expire on July 24, 2026. The new Section 301 forced-labor duties are a separate trade measure, but in practical import-planning terms they followed the expiring Section 122 background and became the relevant tariff issue for many importers.

So, if you are asking when did Section 122 tariffs expire, the context here is that the prior temporary measure was set to end around the same time the Section 301 forced-labor duties came into force. That is why the new programme became the more important customs planning issue for affected entries.

How Importers Should Use the PDF and File Correctly

The safest workflow is to treat the PDF list as part of a wider customs-compliance check, not as a standalone answer. Before filing, importers should:

1. Verify the country of origin for the goods.
2. Match the correct Chapter 99 heading in the CBP guidance or HTS list.
3. Check whether the product falls into an exception or special category.
4. Confirm the entry date and whether any in-transit transition rule applies.
5. File the entry under current CBP instructions and retain supporting documentation.

If you need a broader reference point for classification and tariff lookup, our guide on HS code lookup and the 2026 Harmonized Schedule explains how tariff classification fits into the customs process. For a wider commercial-importer overview, see CBP compliance and HTS codes.

If a charge on an entry or invoice looks wrong, or if a supplier has applied a customs charge that does not match the filing, you may also need to dispute a customs charge. In some cases, importers will later need follow-up help on corrections, refunds, or related timing issues, including questions about tariff refunds and interest.

What This Article Covers, and What It Does Not

This article is intended to help you locate and understand the Section 301 forced-labor tariff PDF list, the rate structure, the covered-economy framework, and the implementation date. It is not a shipment-specific forced-labor detention guide, and it does not replace a product-level compliance review.

If your shipment is being detained, flagged, or examined for a separate forced-labor issue, you may be dealing with a different enforcement process. In that case, the tariff list alone will not be enough. You will need to review the product, the origin, the applicable Chapter 99 classification, and any CBP instructions that apply to the exact entry.

For most importers, the bottom line is simple: use the official PDF and CBP guidance, verify the country and HTS treatment, and do not rely on a generic tariff summary when the entry requires a precise Chapter 99 classification.

---