North American Trade & Tariff Insights

Tariffs or duties are taxes assessed on imports of foreign goods, paid by the importer to the U.S. government, and collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Current U.S. tariff rates may be found in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to regulate foreign commerce and therefore impose tariffs, but, through various trade laws, Congress has delegated authority to the president to modify tariffs and other trade restrictions under certain circumstances.¹

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), trade remedies are laws and actions that countries use to protect industries from unfair trade practices, such as additional tariffs, quotas, or prohibiting certain imports.

Yes. CBP pays interest from the date the original money was deposited. The current interest rates are published in the Federal Register on a quarterly basis. 

A Trade remedies can impact business in many ways. We recommend using automated clearinghouse (ACH) and periodic monthly statement (PMS) to pay your duties, taxes, and fees directly to CBP. These methods can help manage your credit lines and payments effectively.

Additionally, be sure to determine your bond amount. An insufficient customs bond can create significant delays for your supply chain and result in a negative financial impact to your business.

Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the president to impose temporary duties and other trade measures if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines a surge in imports is a substantial cause or threat of serious injury to a U.S. industry.

A Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the United States to impose trade restrictions, like tariffs or quotas, on imported goods that are causing or threatening to cause serious injury to a domestic industry. Essentially, it can lead to increased costs for imported goods, potentially protecting domestic producers but also impacting consumers and international trade flows.

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the president to adjust imports if the Department of Commerce finds certain products are imported in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair U.S. national security. In 2018, tariffs were imposed under Section 232 on steel imports at 25% and aluminum imports at 10%.

Effective March 12, 2025, a 25% tariff applies to steel and aluminum imports and some steel and aluminum derivatives.

The Section 232 tariffs can have a significant impact to a company’s bottom line and have resulted in billions of dollars collected in tariff revenue since they went into effect in 2018.

There have been several key changes to the Section 232 tariffs in 2025, such as the aluminum tariffs increasing from 10% to 25%. As of March 12, 2025, steel and aluminum imports (including some derivatives) are also now subject to the Section 232 tariffs, regardless of the country they are imported from.

No. All General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) and country-level ‘alternative arrangements’ (including exemptions, absolute quotas, and tariff-rate quotas) are revoked as of March 12, 2025.

However, any importer-specific product exclusions granted remain in effect until their expiration date or until their excluded volume is imported, whichever occurs first. The process for requesting exclusions terminated on February 10, 2025.

Effective March 12, 2025, the Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum (including some derivatives) apply to all countries.

Steel and aluminum derivatives are downstream products that contain steel or aluminum. Only some steel and aluminum derivatives are subject to the Section 232 tariffs.

Unless goods are exported from the United States, goods entered into an FTZ must be entered under “privileged foreign status” and will require payment of duty at the time of entry into the U.S. Commerce.

The producer typically will calculate the total value of the steel or aluminum content in the derivative article, or a supplier may provide a Bill of Material (BOM) breaking out the steel or aluminum content value. No matter how the value is calculated, it is important that it is supported with documented proof that can be provided to CBP.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Section 301) allows the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to suspend trade agreement concessions or impose import restrictions if it determines a U.S. trading partner is violating trade agreement commitments or engaging in discriminatory or unreasonable practices that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

Section 301 may impact trade in several ways. Most notably, the tariffs imposed on products from China have significantly impacted shippers—resulting in billions of dollars in tariff revenue collected since the tariffs went into effect in 2018.

Enter the product’s harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) classification on the USTR website. Talk to your Trusted Advisor^® expert at C.H. Robinson to learn more.

As noted in CSMS Message 18-000419, Section 301 duties are eligible for duty drawback. Drawback is the refund of certain duties, internal revenue taxes, and certain fees collected upon the importation of goods. Such refunds are only allowed upon the exportation or destruction of goods under U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervision.

No, not right now. Goods properly entered under Section 321 are not subject to Section 301 duties. Please note that a formal entry is required if a shipment contains merchandise subject to AD/CVD. Goods subject to AD/CVD do not qualify for Section 321.

Something to keep an eye on: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) submitted a proposal in early September 2020 to the Office of Management and Budget that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. Additionally, in January 2022, the Import Security and Fairness Act was introduced to address Section 321 shipment activity. Significant changes proposed within this legislation are as follows:

• Reverses Congress’s decision to raise the threshold to $800 from the previous threshold of $200
• Prohibits goods from countries that are both non-market economies and on the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Watch List from using de minimis benefits
• Prohibits goods subject to enforcement actions (e.g., Section 301 tariff measures) from using the program

Remember, Section 321, 19 USC 1321 is the statute that describes de minimis. De minimis provides admission of articles free of duty and of any tax imposed on, or by reason of importation, but the aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of articles imported by one person on one day and exempted from the payment of duty shall not exceed $800. The de minimis threshold was previously $200 but increased with the passage of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA).

No. Additional duties imposed by the Section 301 remedy only apply to articles that are products of the People’s Republic of China (ISO Country Code CN). Imported goods that are legitimately the product of Hong Kong (HK) or Macau (MO) are not subject to the additional Section 301 duties. Please note that Section 301 duties are based on country of origin, not country of export.²

Yes. Basic changes/processes such as packaging, cleaning, and sorting would not change the country of origin to be declared in most cases. The origin would still be China and therefore the Section 301 duties would still apply.