Cost and duty
US duty on goods from India vs China: Section 301 and 232 explained
What the base tariff, Section 301 and Section 232 add to goods from India and from China, line by line, from the current US Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
Goods from India pay the US base tariff plus a 10% Section 301 surcharge. Goods from China pay the base tariff plus 12.5%, and on many lines a further China-only Section 301 rate of 7.5% or more[1]. Steel, aluminium and copper goods can pay a Section 232 duty instead of Section 301, from both countries. Across the lines for our twelve launch products, China pays between 2.5 and 27.5 percentage points more than India. There are two exceptions. On stainless steel kitchenware the two pay the same. Brass fittings can pay Section 232, which we can only model for India.
These figures change often. Everything here comes from HTS release 2026HTSRev19. We captured Chapter 99 on 27 September 2026[1] and the base rates on 18 September 2026[2]. Check the current schedule, or ask your customs broker, before you price an order.
The three layers
1. The base rate
Every US tariff line has a general (most-favoured-nation) rate in column 1 of the schedule. It applies to goods from both India and China. For our products it runs from free, as on base-metal ornaments, to 28%, as on some ceramic hotel ware[2]. The base rate can change a lot within one 6-digit HS code, so the exact 8- or 10-digit line matters.
2. Section 301
Chapter 99 of the HTS sets additional duties by country, under U.S. note 52:
- India, heading 9903.05.44: "the duty provided in the applicable subheading + 10%"[1].
- China, heading 9903.05.31: the applicable duty + 12.5%[1].
Note 52 exempts some goods. Subdivision (b) lists 866 codes that pay no surcharge, mostly agricultural and resource products, and subdivision (c) lists 19 more. Subdivision (e) lists 703 codes that are exempt only when the goods are for pharmaceutical use[1]. None of our twelve products is exempt.
On top of note 52, China has its own Section 301 lists. Note 20 sets the older lists, and the headings still in effect add these rates[1]:
| Heading | Adds | Codes listed |
|---|---|---|
| 9903.88.01 | 25% | 856 |
| 9903.88.02 | 25% | 283 |
| 9903.88.03 | 25% | 5,906 |
| 9903.88.04 | 25% | 33 |
| 9903.88.15 | 7.5% | 2,979 |
| 9903.91.01 to 9903.91.11 (2024 four-year review, note 31) | 25% to 100% | 392 |
The 2024 four-year-review headings under note 31 replace the older list rate for the products they name. So a Chinese product pays its note 52 duty plus the highest China-only list rate that covers it. It does not pay the old list rate and the review rate together. A "code listed" can be a 4-, 6-, 8- or 10-digit code, so these counts are not tariff line counts. None of our twelve products is on a note 31 list. Where a China-only rate applies to them, it is 7.5% or 25%.
3. Section 232 on steel, aluminium and copper
U.S. note 16(c) lists steel, aluminium and copper articles and their derivatives in eleven subdivisions. For a country with no special arrangement, such as India, they pay[1]:
- Lists (i) to (v), heading 9903.82.02: the applicable duty + 50% (280 codes).
- Lists (vi) to (viii) and (xi), heading 9903.82.09: the applicable duty + 25% (375 codes).
- Lists (ix) and (x), heading 9903.82.10: a 15% floor, which raises the total to 15% where the base rate is lower (87 codes). Heading 9903.82.11 applies when the base is already 15% or more.
How the layers combine
A line never pays both Section 301 and Section 232. This is how we work out which one applies, and it is the same logic behind the duty figures on this site:
- Inside chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76 (iron and steel, articles of iron or steel, copper, aluminium), a line on a note 16 list pays the base rate plus Section 232. Section 232 replaces the note 52 surcharge under note 52(f)[1].
- Outside those chapters, note 16 applies only where steel, aluminium or copper is at least 15% of the article's weight. So a listed line in, say, chapter 83 pays Section 301 normally, and Section 232 instead if the metal content passes that test. We show both figures.
- Exempt lines under note 52(b) or (c) pay the base rate alone, unless Section 232 applies.
- From China, we take the note 52 duty, or Section 232 instead inside the metal chapters, and add the highest China-only list rate that covers the line.
- Where a list names only part of a line, for example one 10-digit suffix of an 8-digit line, the extra duty applies to some goods on that line and not others.
We leave out the IEEPA "reciprocal" headings, 9903.01 and 9903.02. The HTS still prints most of them without a termination note, but the US Supreme Court struck them down on 20 February 2026.
What our twelve products pay
Base rates are from the USITC schedule[2], and the additional duties from Chapter 99[1]. Where a product spans several lines, we show the range and name the lines.
| Product | US line | Base | From India | From China |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic tableware, porcelain or china | 6911.10, 12 lines split by use, value and set | 6%–26% | 16%–36% | 18.8%–46% |
| Ceramic tableware, other ceramics | 6912.00, 10 lines | 0.7%–28% | 10.7%–38% | 16.4%–40.5% |
| LED bulbs | 8539.52.00 | 2% | 12% | 14.5% |
| Leather wallets | 4202.31.60 (not reptile) | 8% | 18% | 45.5% |
| Cast iron cookware, not enamelled | 7323.91.50 | 5.3% | 15.3% | 17.8% |
| Cast iron cookware, enamelled | 7323.92.00 | Free | 10% | 20% |
| Brass furniture fittings | 8302.42.30 (iron, steel, aluminium or zinc) | 3.9% | 13.9%, or 28.9% under Section 232 | 23.9% |
| Brass furniture fittings | 8302.42.60 (other metals) | 3.4% | 13.4% | 23.4% |
| Brass ornaments | 8306.29.00 | Free | 10% | 12.5% |
| Brass sanitary ware | 7418.20.10 | 3% | 53% | 78% |
| Bath towels, cotton terry | 6302.60.00 | 9.1% | 19.1% | 29.1% |
| Cotton bed linen | 6302.31, 4 lines by trim and napping | 3.8%–20.9% | 13.8%–30.9% | 23.8%–40.9% |
| Cotton cushion covers | 6304.92.00 | 6.3% | 16.3% | 26.3% |
| Stainless steel bottles, as kitchenware | 7323.93.00 | 2% | 27% | 27% |
| Stainless steel bottles, as vacuum flasks up to 1 litre | 9617.00.10 | 7.2% | 17.2% | 19.7% |
| Cotton tote bags | 4202.92, 4 cotton lines | 6.3%–17.6% | 16.3%–27.6% | 43.8%–55.1% |
Four cases worth a closer look
Brass sanitary ware: Section 232 at 50%
HS 7418.20 is in chapter 74 and on note 16 list (v), so goods from India pay the 3% base plus 50% under heading 9903.82.02. That makes 53%, in place of the 13% they would pay under Section 301. Goods from China pay the same 53% plus a 25% list rate under 9903.88.03, for 78%[1].
Stainless steel bottles: the HS code changes the answer
As stainless steel kitchenware (7323.93.00), a bottle is on note 16 list (vii) in chapter 73. It pays 2% plus 25% Section 232 from either country, 27% in both cases. As a vacuum flask of up to 1 litre (9617.00.10), it is on no metals list. It pays 7.2% plus Section 301: 17.2% from India and 19.7% from China. Vacuum flasks over 2 litres (9617.00.40) also carry China's 7.5% list rate, for 26.9%[2][1].
Brass furniture fittings: a conditional Section 232
8302.42.30 covers fittings of iron, steel, aluminium or zinc. It is on note 16 lists (vi) and (vii), but it sits in chapter 83, outside the metal chapters. From India it pays 13.9% under Section 301, or 28.9% under Section 232 if steel, aluminium or copper is at least 15% of the article's weight. Fittings of other metals fall under 8302.42.60 at 3.4%, which is on no metals list[2][1]. Solid brass is none of iron, steel, aluminium or zinc, so check with your broker which line your fittings fall on. Our China figure of 23.9% does not model the Section 232 case. A Chinese fitting that meets the metal test would pay more.
Ceramic tableware and bed linen: many lines
Ceramic tableware splits into 22 rated lines across 6911.10 and 6912.00. They depend on things like whether the ware is bone china, whether it is for hotels or households, its value per dozen pieces, and whether it is sold in a set. Some lines carry China's 7.5% list rate and some don't, so China's extra duty over India is either 2.5 or 10 points. Cotton bed linen splits on whether it has embroidery, lace or other trim and whether the fabric is napped[2]. See Why one HS code for bed linen can mean 6.7% or 20.9% US duty.
What these figures don't cover
- Anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD). These are set case by case and can be large. We don't include them.
- Fees. The merchandise processing fee (MPF) and harbor maintenance fee (HMF) are charged on top of duty and aren't included.
- USTR product exclusions from China's Section 301 lists aren't modelled. A Chinese product with an exclusion would pay less than we show.
- The conditional Section 232 case for China. Outside the metal chapters, we don't add Section 232 for Chinese goods that meet the 15% metal test.
- Special-program rates. We use the general column rate and don't apply the schedule's special-program rates.
To see these figures for your own product, use the US duty table.
Sources
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Chapter 99 (additional duties), release 2026HTSRev19 · as of 27 September 2026
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, full schedule export (general rates) · as of 18 September 2026
Figures are captured from the sources above on the dates shown and can change. They are estimates for planning, not quotes or legal advice. Check the current text of any rule before you rely on it.