Tariff Rate Lookup — What Your HS Code Actually Costs at the Border

What Determines Your Tariff Rate — The Four Layers

Every customs authority on earth calculates your duty rate by stacking up to four independent layers. Understanding which layers apply to your shipment is the difference between budgeting correctly and discovering a 25% cost overrun when your goods hit the dock. Here's the stack, from bottom to top:

Layer 1 — The MFN Base Rate

MFN stands for Most Favored Nation. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with favoritism — it's the baseline rate every WTO member charges to every other WTO member, unless a lower rate has been negotiated through a free trade agreement. The US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, and Mexico all publish their MFN schedules publicly. For machinery and electronics (Chapters 84-85), the MFN rate is typically 0–2.5% across developed markets because of the Information Technology Agreement, a WTO plurilateral deal that zeroes out tariffs on semiconductors, computers, and telecom equipment. For apparel (Chapters 61-62), MFN rates run 9–16% — textile protectionism is older than the WTO itself and nobody has managed to negotiate it away. For footwear (Chapter 64), rates hit 10–22%, making it the most heavily protected consumer goods category in global trade. If you're shipping basketball shoes from China to the US, the MFN layer alone is roughly 15% of CIF.

Layer 2 — Additional Country-Specific Duties

This is where the rate stops being predictable from the WTO schedule alone. The US imposes Section 301 duties of 7.5%, 25%, or 100% on goods of Chinese origin across broad product categories — machinery, electronics, chemicals, plastics, apparel, furniture, and more. These duties are not part of the MFN schedule; they were imposed unilaterally starting in 2018 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. They stack on top of the MFN rate, meaning a Chinese-made machine tool facing a 2.5% MFN rate actually pays 27.5% at the US border. Other markets have their own equivalents: the EU imposes antidumping duties on specific steel and aluminum products from China, India, and Russia; Japan's safeguard measures on agricultural products function similarly. These aren't published in one convenient table — they're scattered across Federal Register notices, EU Official Journal entries, and individual country gazettes. Our Section 301 Guide covers the US-specific overlay in detail.

Layer 3 — Antidumping and Countervailing Duties

AD/CVD rates operate outside the normal tariff schedule entirely. They're imposed on a product-by-product, country-by-country basis after a domestic industry files a petition alleging that imports are being sold below fair value (dumping) or benefiting from government subsidies (countervailing). AD rates can exceed 100% of the goods value — a recent case on Chinese wooden bedroom furniture resulted in a 216% AD rate for certain exporters. CVD rates are typically smaller (5–30%) but stack on top of AD rates and MFN rates simultaneously. The problem: you often don't know an AD/CVD order exists until your shipment gets flagged. The US Commerce Department maintains a public list of active orders, but it's organized by case number, not by HS code, making it difficult for non-specialists to check. If you're importing steel, aluminum, solar panels, ceramic tile, plywood, or furniture from China — or textiles and apparel from Vietnam — you need a customs broker to screen for AD/CVD before you ship. This calculator flags chapters where AD/CVD orders are common, but it cannot predict whether your specific product at your specific 10-digit HTS code is covered. That's what your broker is for.

Layer 4 — Free Trade Agreement Preferences

An FTA can take your rate from 15% to 0% overnight — but only if you can prove your goods qualify. Every FTA has rules of origin: requirements that a certain percentage of the product's value was added in the exporting country, or that the product underwent a specific manufacturing process (a "tariff shift") in the FTA partner country. A cotton shirt sewn in Vietnam from Chinese fabric probably doesn't qualify for CPTPP preferences because the fabric — the "originating material" — came from outside the FTA zone. That same shirt sewn from Vietnamese fabric does qualify. The calculator shows which FTAs exist between your origin and destination countries, but it can't tell you whether your product meets the rules of origin. If the FTA rate is 0% and your broker confirms eligibility, use that rate. If you're not sure, budget the MFN rate — that's the number customs will apply if your origin claim is challenged and you can't produce the paperwork.

Section 301 — The 7.5% to 100% Overlay That Only Applies to One Country

If you're importing Chinese goods into the United States, Section 301 is the single largest variable in your landed cost — bigger than freight, bigger than insurance, often bigger than the MFN duty itself. Here's how it's structured as of mid-2026:

• List 1 (25%) — Industrial machinery, medical devices, aircraft parts, and certain electronics. Mostly Chapters 84, 85, 88, 90. Imposed July 2018. Still in effect for most items, though some medical products received temporary exclusions during the pandemic that have since been extended.
• List 2 (25%) — Chemicals, plastics, and rubber products. Chapters 28–40 broadly. Imposed August 2018. Many chemical intermediates used in pharmaceutical manufacturing have been granted exclusions; most other items remain subject to the full 25%.
• List 3 (25%) — A broad catch-all covering consumer electronics, tools, furniture, auto parts, and more. Chapters 39–40, 73–83, 84–85 (additional subheadings), 94–96. Imposed September 2018, rate increased from 10% to 25% in May 2019. This is the list that catches most DTC e-commerce shipments.
• List 4A (7.5%) — Apparel, footwear, textiles, and consumer goods. Chapters 61–65, 94–96. Imposed September 2019. Originally proposed at 15% but reduced to 7.5% in the Phase One trade deal signed January 2020. This reduction is not permanent — it can be reversed by USTR at any time, and has been threatened repeatedly during subsequent trade negotiations.
• List 4B — Cell phones, laptops, video game consoles, and certain toys. Originally proposed for 15% tariffs in 2019 but suspended indefinitely before taking effect. If your HS code starts with 8471.30 (laptops) or 8517.12 (smartphones), you're currently paying MFN only — no Section 301 overlay. This could change. The administration reviews the suspension annually.

For a practical example: a shipment of Chinese-made cotton T-shirts (HS Chapter 61) entering the US faces a 12% MFN rate and a 7.5% Section 301 List 4A rate, for an effective duty of 19.5% of CIF before any other charges. A shipment of Chinese-made steel pipe fittings (HS Chapter 73) faces a 4% MFN rate, a 25% Section 301 List 1 rate, and potentially a Section 232 national security tariff of 25% — the effective rate can exceed 50% depending on the product. Nobody enters the US market with Chinese steel products without a customs attorney. See our corridor pages for product-specific breakdowns: China→US Electronics, China→US Apparel, China→US Furniture.

Free Trade Agreements — Which Markets Offer Preferential Rates to Which Origins

An FTA doesn't automatically apply just because one exists between two countries. You need a certificate of origin, your product needs to meet the agreement's rules of origin, and your shipment documentation needs to reference the correct FTA claim code on the customs entry. But knowing which FTAs exist is the first step — if you don't know an FTA covers your trade lane, you can't take advantage of it. Below is a quick-reference for the major origin-destination pairs most relevant to DTC and wholesale importers.

Two things worth noting immediately. First, China has no FTA with the US, EU, or UK — the three largest consumer markets. Every Chinese shipment into those markets pays full MFN plus any applicable overlays, no exceptions (Hong Kong re-exports don't change origin for customs purposes). Second, Vietnam has FTAs with all six markets — a fact that's driven a significant share of manufacturing relocation from China to Vietnam since 2018. If you're sourcing apparel and your factory offers both China and Vietnam production lines, the tariff differential alone can swing the landed cost by 15–20 percentage points. Run the numbers both ways before committing to a production location. Our China→US Apparel and Vietnam→US Textiles corridor pages compare the two sourcing strategies side by side.

When the Rate on the Screen Isn't the Rate You'll Pay

This calculator gives you the best available estimate from published tariff schedules and regulatory data. But four situations can make the actual rate at the border different from what appears here. None of them are bugs — they're features of how customs law works.

Your 10-digit HTS classification differs from the 2-4 digit chapter rate

This calculator works at the chapter level (first 2 digits of the HS code) with additional granularity for common headings (4 digits). But the actual duty rate is assessed at the full 10-digit HTS level in the US — and within a single chapter, 10-digit rates can vary substantially. Chapter 84 (machinery) has 10-digit subheadings ranging from 0% to 9.9%. Chapter 62 (woven apparel) has subheadings from 2.8% to 17.5%. If you have your full 10-digit HTS code from a customs broker, the rate they quoted you is more reliable than the chapter average shown here. Use this tool to get oriented; use your broker to get precise.

Your goods are subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order

AD/CVD rates are not in the tariff schedule. They're in separate Commerce Department and International Trade Commission orders, and they apply to specific products from specific producers in specific countries. The calculator flags chapters where AD/CVD orders are common — but it does not and cannot screen for whether your exact product at your exact HTS code from your exact supplier is covered. If you're importing products that have ever been the subject of a trade case (steel, aluminum, chemicals, solar cells, furniture, textiles, tires, bearings, and dozens more categories), you need a broker to run an AD/CVD scope check before you ship. A $50 broker screening is cheaper than a 216% duty bill discovered at the port.

A tariff-rate quota is in effect for your product

Some products have two-tier duty rates: a low "in-quota" rate up to a certain volume, and a much higher "over-quota" rate beyond it. Sugar, dairy, beef, cotton, steel, and aluminum are common TRQ categories. The in-quota rate might be 5% and the over-quota rate 85% — and the quota might fill up in January for the entire year. If you're importing an agricultural product or a metal subject to TRQs, the rate you'll pay depends on when in the quota year your shipment arrives and whether quota volume is still available. This calculator shows MFN applied rates; it does not track real-time quota fill status. Your broker does.

Customs reclassifies your product at the border

Customs officers are not bound by the HS code you put on your commercial invoice. They classify the goods based on their own examination and the legal precedents in their country's classification rulings database. If you declare a shipment as "LED light fixtures" under HS 9405.40 (lighting, 3.9%) and the CBP officer decides they're actually "electric lamps" under HS 9405.10 (2.4%), you get a refund — but if the reclassification goes the other direction, you get a bill for the difference plus interest. Classification disputes are one of the most common reasons importers get hit with unexpected duty adjustments. The only way to eliminate this risk is a binding classification ruling from the importing country's customs authority — a process that takes weeks to months but provides legal certainty. For most commercial shipments, a broker's classification on the entry is sufficient, but the importer of record always bears the legal risk of misclassification.

How to Actually Use This — A Practical Workflow

This page is the second step in a four-step costing process. Here's the workflow that experienced importers use:

1. Classify your product. Get the full 6-digit HS code, ideally from a broker or from the HS Code Estimator. The first 4 digits are usually enough for a directional rate estimate; the full 6 digits are better. If you have a 10-digit HTS code from a US broker, use the first 6 digits here.
2. Run this tariff lookup. Get the MFN base rate for your target markets. Note any Section 301 overlays. Check the FTA table — is there a preferential rate available? If yes, ask your broker whether your product qualifies. If the answer is "probably," run the numbers with both the MFN rate and the FTA rate to see the range.
3. Calculate the pure duty. Take the effective rate from here and plug it into the Import Duty Calculator. That tool multiplies your goods value by the rate and checks de minimis thresholds. It's one number — just the duty line. Get that number right before you add anything else.
4. Run the full landed cost. Take the duty number and put it into the Landed Cost Calculator along with freight, insurance, and destination market. That tool layers on VAT/GST and gives you the total door-to-door import cost across up to seven markets simultaneously. The landed cost — not the FOB price, not the duty rate — is the number that determines whether your unit economics work.

If you skip straight from "I found a supplier" to "I wired the money" without running the tariff numbers first, you're gambling. Most of the time, the gamble costs 5–25% more than expected. Sometimes — Section 301, an AD order, a misclassification — it costs 50–200% more. This tool exists so you don't have to find out at the dock.