As of October 27, 2026, the forced-labor Section 301 duties are still being collected. They have applied since 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24, 2026, at 10% or 12.5% on products of 60 economies. In the roughly 95 days since, USTR has published no change to the exemption list. CBP is still working from the filing instructions it issued the night before the duties began, and the Court of International Trade has not ruled on the importers' challenge. So the work that matters now is on your own entries: confirm the right Chapter 99 lines, catch exemptions that were missed, and correct overpayments while the Post Summary Correction window is still open.
For the basics of the action (who is covered, how the rates work, how it differs from UFLPA), start with our forced-labor tariff page. This post covers what the first three months looked like and what to fix.
Where Things Stand on October 27, 2026
Each of these was checked against a primary source on the date of this article:
- The duty is in effect. USTR's final action (91 FR 47318, published July 28, 2026) covers goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24, 2026. It has no end date.
- The exemption list hasn't changed. None of the 11 Federal Register documents USTR has published since July 29, 2026 modifies this action. USTR's investigation page lists nothing after the July 28 notice.
- CBP's guidance hasn't changed. CSMS #69326983 (a Cargo Systems Messaging Service bulletin, CBP's official channel for trade guidance), sent July 23, 2026, is still the operating instruction. We found no later message amending it.
- The court hasn't ruled. The Court of International Trade's published slip opinions run through No. 26-130, dated October 20, 2026. None of them is in the forced-labor tariff cases.
With no new exemptions, no new filing rules and no decision, the only thing an importer controls is the accuracy of its own filings. That makes your last 95 days of entries the place to look.
The Exemption List: One Early Change, One Pending Item
The only real change to the exemption list came between the proposal and the final action. According to the July 28 notice, the final action kept the exemption annex from USTR's June 5, 2026 proposal, with one exception: certain chemicals are now exempt only when used in pharmaceutical applications, claimed under heading 9903.05.89. The notice also names requests for more exemptions that USTR declined, including DL-methionine. If your team built its exemption review from the June proposal, check every chemical line against the final annex.
Nothing has been added or removed since. The final notice also sets out no process for requesting a product exclusion, unlike the 2018–2019 China Section 301 tariffs. The exemptions are whatever U.S. note 52 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) says, and nothing more.
One item is pending. The notice directs USTR to set up three-year tariff-rate quotas for textile and apparel goods from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, tied to U.S. cotton and textile inputs, "once feasible." Until a Federal Register notice establishes them, those goods pay the 10% rate. As of October 27, 2026, no such notice has been published.
Keep this separate from the China Section 301 exclusions under 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70. Those belong to a different action, they don't exempt anything from the forced-labor duty, and as of October 27, 2026 USTR has published only conforming amendments to them, not an extension. Our post on the November Section 301 exclusion deadline covers that action.
How CBP Wants These Entries Filed
Your filer should be working from CSMS #69326983. Its structure is more involved than a single surcharge line.
Country headings. Headings 9903.05.20 through 9903.05.84 each apply to "products of" one economy. China is 9903.05.31, Vietnam 9903.05.84, Mexico 9903.05.55 and Canada 9903.05.29. Seventeen economies carry 10%, including Canada, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom. Thirty-eight carry 12.5%, including China, Vietnam, Brazil and Thailand.
Paired headings. The EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan each have two headings. Which one applies depends on the product's column 1 (normal trade relations) rate. If that rate already meets the target, which is 10% for the EU and Taiwan and 12.5% for the other three, the first heading applies and no additional duty is owed. If the rate is below the target, the second heading brings the combined rate up to the target. For example, an EU product with a 4% column 1 rate owes 6% more. That figure is our arithmetic, applying the CSMS formula.
Exemption headings. The general exemptions apply to every covered economy:
- 9903.05.85: in-transit goods (window now closed)
- 9903.05.86: articles in the main annex list, note 52(b)
- 9903.05.87: particular listed articles
- 9903.05.88: civil aircraft and parts
- 9903.05.89: pharmaceutical applications
- 9903.05.90: listed aluminum, steel, copper and derivative articles, vehicles and parts, wood products and semiconductors
- 9903.05.91: humanitarian donations
- 9903.05.92: informational materials
Country-specific exemptions run from 9903.05.93 through 9903.06.21. They include Canada (9903.05.93) and Mexico (9903.05.94) under USMCA, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, and CAFTA-DR textiles and apparel (9903.05.95). When a product qualifies, the filer reports the exemption heading together with the country heading.
Sequence and value. The order on each line is: Chapter 98 first, then the Chapter 99 additional-duty numbers (Section 301 first, then Section 122, Section 232 and Section 201), then other Chapter 99 numbers, and the Chapter 1–97 classification last, which is the line that carries the entered value. Our tariff stacking guide shows how these layers add up on one entry. In foreign trade zones, covered goods can be admitted only in privileged foreign status (19 CFR 146.41) unless they qualify for domestic status.
Where These Entries Go Wrong
These are the places where CBP's instructions are easiest to misapply. Each error can either overcharge you or underpay CBP, and an underpayment carries its own exposure.
1. The in-transit claim, both ways. Heading 9903.05.85 required two things: the goods were loaded and in transit before 12:01 a.m. July 24, and they were entered before 12:01 a.m. July 28. Any claim on an entry dated July 28 or later is wrong. The opposite error also costs money: qualifying goods entered July 24 through 27 without the claim paid duty they didn't owe.
2. The wrong half of a pair. For EU, Japanese, Korean, Swiss and Taiwanese goods, a wrong column 1 rate, or a wrong classification behind it, changes which heading applies and how much is owed.
3. Origin versus shipping point. The headings follow country of origin, not the shipping point. A Chinese-origin good routed through a 10% economy, without being substantially transformed there, is still a product of China at 12.5%.
4. Treating "from Mexico" as "USMCA." The Canada and Mexico exemptions apply to goods that actually enter duty-free under USMCA: they meet the rules of origin and the claim is made. The CAFTA-DR exemption works the same way and covers only textiles and apparel. Other goods from those countries pay their country rate unless another exemption applies.
5. Assuming Chapter 98 means zero. Under 9802.00.40, .50 and .60, the duty applies to the value of the repairs or processing. Under 9802.00.80, it applies to the value of the assembled article minus its U.S.-origin components.
6. Matching the code but not the description. Some exemptions depend on end use. A chemical in an exempt subheading but with a non-pharmaceutical use does not qualify for 9903.05.89. Keep the end-use documentation in the file.
7. Mixing up the two Section 301 actions. A China exclusion under 9903.88.69 has no effect on the forced-labor duty. A Chinese-origin product can owe both.
Correcting Early Overpayments With a PSC
When a review finds a missed exemption or a heading at the wrong rate, the fix for an unliquidated entry is a Post Summary Correction (PSC), an electronic correction to an entry summary already on file. Liquidation is CBP's final determination of the duty owed on an entry.
CBP's PSC page, last modified August 6, 2026, says a PSC is filed "within 300 days from the date of entry and up to 15 days of the scheduled liquidation date, whichever date is earlier." The entry must be accepted, paid, unliquidated and not under CBP review. A PSC can't change the importer of record, the port of entry or the date of entry.
By our count, an entry dated July 24, 2026 reaches day 300 on May 20, 2027, and the liquidation limit can close the window sooner. Every forced-labor entry is still inside its window, but the windows close one entry at a time, not on one date. Our guide to checking liquidation dates in ACE shows how to find each entry's date in the Automated Commercial Environment.
After liquidation, what remains is a protest under 19 U.S.C. 1514, filed "within 180 days after but not before" the liquidation date. A protest contests CBP's own decisions on the entry, including "the classification and rate and amount of duties chargeable," so it fits an exemption CBP didn't apply. Whether the duty is lawful at all is the question before the court.
Corrections work in both directions, so handle overpayments and underpayments found in the same review together. CBP decides each correction on its merits, and neither a PSC nor a protest guarantees a refund. Our PSC filing guide covers the mechanics. Our post-summary corrections service is $150 per PSC entry, up to 10 lines.
The Court Challenge: Argued, Not Decided
Importers and states have sued in the Court of International Trade, arguing the duties exceed USTR's authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Plaintiff hand2mind reported that on August 19, 2026 the court picked Learning Resources, Inc. et al. v. United States as the sample case and stayed two other suits, Burlap & Barrel, Inc. and Collective Horology, LLC v. Greer and State of Oregon v. Trump. It also said a summary judgment hearing was set for September 30, 2026. As of October 27, 2026, the court's published slip opinions, through October 20, include no decision in these cases.
We won't predict the outcome. Three points apply while the court decides:
- The duty is owed until a court says otherwise. Leaving off 9903.05 lines in case the tariff is struck down creates an underpayment. It doesn't hedge anything.
- The scope of any relief is up to the court. In the IEEPA litigation, who could get relief, and how, was a separate question from whether the tariffs were lawful. Our post on the CIT's IEEPA class certification shows how that played out.
- Records are the part you control. Keep a ledger of every entry with a 9903.05 or 9903.06 line: the entry date, the duty paid on that line and the liquidation date. It's the same list your PSC review needs, so build it once.
We'll update this post when the court issues an opinion. Watch the Federal Register for the textile tariff-rate quota notice too.
No. As of October 27, 2026, USTR has published no notice modifying the action since July 28, 2026. The only change the action itself anticipates, tariff-rate quotas for certain textiles and apparel from four countries, has not been established.
Has the Court of International Trade ruled on the forced-labor tariffs?
Not as of October 27, 2026. The court's published slip opinions through October 20 include no decision in these cases, and the duty is still being collected. We don't predict whether a ruling would lead to refunds.
Can I still fix an entry where I overpaid in July or August?
If the entry hasn't liquidated, generally yes, through a PSC. File it within 300 days of entry or 15 days before scheduled liquidation, whichever comes first, on a paid entry that isn't under CBP review. After liquidation, the route is a protest within 180 days. CBP decides each one on its merits.
Do my China Section 301 exclusions cover the forced-labor duty?
No. The 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70 exclusions belong to the China technology-transfer action. The forced-labor duty has its own exemptions under U.S. note 52.
How We Help
Ninety days in, the work that matters is on your entries, not in Washington. We help in four ways:
- Clear. We file entries with the right country heading, the right half of each pair and the right exemption claim. Self-filing with our ABI-certified software is $30 per entry, and full brokerage is $100–$250 per entry.
- Consult. A licensed broker reviews your entries since July 24 line by line and tells you which exemption claims need a second look.
- Comply. We file Post Summary Corrections at $150 per PSC entry, up to 10 lines, and help you build the entry ledger.
- Automate. For high-volume importers who self-file, built-in validation in our ABI software catches bad entry data before you file.
If you want a broker to review your forced-labor entries before the first correction deadlines arrive, talk to our team.