What changed
178 China Section 301 exclusions lapse; 25% or 7.5% duty returns
When
Ends 11:59 p.m. ET November 9, 2026; entries from November 10
Who it affects
Importers of record on HTSUS 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70 lines
What to do
Check entries for the two headings, reprice, and watch the Federal Register

Key takeaways

  • 178 China Section 301 exclusions end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 9, 2026, and no extension had been announced when we published.
  • Entry date decides: goods entered or withdrawn from bonded storage on or after November 10 pay 25% or 7.5% on top of normal duty.
  • Find every entry using 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70, reprice those ASINs, and reset target ACoS before the first new entry.

How the 178 exclusions reached this cliff

  1. USTR extends 178 exclusions

  2. Two notices, no new end date

  3. Thomson Reuters: no extension yet

  4. Exclusions end 11:59 p.m. ET

  5. Entries pay 25% or 7.5%

What changed

USTR's release of November 26, 2025 says the 178 exclusions, then due to end on November 29, 2025, "have been extended until November 10, 2026." Customs guides from Luckee, Ginger Control and Landed Math read that as coverage through 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 9, so any entry on or after November 10 loses the exclusion.

Landed Math splits the list into 164 general exclusions under HTSUS 9903.88.69 and 14 for solar and silicon wafer manufacturing equipment under 9903.88.70. Thomson Reuters, writing on October 12, said no extension had been announced. Landed Math checked USTR's notices up to October 8 and found that two Federal Register notices published on October 7 kept the Section 301 actions in force and moved one exclusion to a new statistical number, but neither changed the November 9 date. We found no later notice before publishing.

Who is exposed, and who is not

The exclusions are narrow. Each one covers a 10-digit HTS line and a written product description, not a whole category, as Coppersmith and Luckee both stress. Landed Math names motors, printed circuit boards, connectors and LCD modules among the goods inside these headings. Most finished consumer products sold on Amazon were never excluded and already pay Section 301 duty.

So the brands at risk are those whose customs broker files 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70 on their entries today: electronics and appliance brands that import parts, brands that assemble in the US, and sellers of the specific finished goods named in the annex. If you are the importer of record, the duty bill lands on you at entry.

The detail most coverage skips: entry date decides

Landed Math points out that the rule follows the entry date, not the ship date or the arrival date, and there is no relief for goods in transit. For stock held in a bonded warehouse, the withdrawal date counts as the entry date, so goods that qualify today lose the exclusion if they are withdrawn on or after November 10.

That means a container that left China in late October and clears customs on November 11 pays full duty. Ask your broker now which open shipments will clear before the cutoff.

So what: the math on one unit

The rates that return are 25% for goods on Lists 1 to 3 and 7.5% for List 4A, charged on top of the normal duty, according to Landed Math. An exclusion only removes the Section 301 layer, Coppersmith notes, so normal duty, Section 232 metal tariffs and any antidumping duties apply either way.

For example, using illustrative numbers: a brand imports a small kitchen appliance on an excluded List 3 line at a customs value of $12 per unit and sells it on Amazon for $39.99. After Amazon fees, freight and ads, it keeps $5.00 a unit. The 25% duty adds $3.00 per unit, cutting that profit to $2.00, a 60% drop. On a 5,000 unit container, that is $15,000 more duty, paid in cash at entry, weeks before the stock sells.

Two other dates matter. Thomson Reuters reports that Treasury announced a two-month extension of the wider US and China truce to January 10, 2027, but that it had not yet been written into an executive order or Federal Register notice. Separately, a 12.5% Section 301 forced labor tariff that took effect July 24, 2026 is not covered by these exclusions, per Landed Math and Thomson Reuters.

Illustrative unit, before and after

ExcludedFrom Nov 10
Customs value$12.00$12.00
Section 301 duty$0.00$3.00
Profit per unit$5.00$2.00
Duty per 5,000 units$0$15,000

What sellers should do

Run these checks this week. The cutoff is a Monday night, and customs work slows near deadlines.

  • Customs broker or ops lead: pull the last 12 months of entry summaries and list every line that claimed 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70. Metric: a SKU list with HTS codes, finished by Thursday.
  • Ops lead: compare each 10-digit code and product description against the USTR exclusion annex. Coppersmith suggests a binding ruling where the fit is unclear. Metric: each SKU marked as matched or not matched.
  • Logistics: ask the broker which open shipments will be entered by November 9, and keep bonded stock withdrawals in mind. Metric: a dated list of shipments that clear before and after the cutoff.
  • Finance: rerun landed cost with the 25% or 7.5% duty in our Amazon profit calculator, then reset target ACoS with the break-even ACoS calculator. Metric: new break-even ACoS per affected ASIN.
  • Brand owner: decide whether to raise price, sell through old-cost stock first, or move sourcing. Our Amazon pricing strategy guide covers testing a price change. Metric: conversion rate and unit margin two weeks after any change.
  • Ops lead: ask suppliers whether their quotes assume the exclusion, as Landed Math advises, and check the Federal Register each day through November 9. Metric: written supplier answers and no surprise duty on the first entry summary after November 10.

Before November 9

  • Pull entries using 9903.88.69 or .70
  • Match 10-digit HTS to the annex
  • List shipments clearing after the cutoff
  • Rerun landed cost and break-even ACoS
  • Ask suppliers if quotes assume exclusions
  • Check the Federal Register daily

When this does not apply

If none of your entries use the two exclusion headings, nothing changes for you on November 10. If your goods are not of Chinese origin, the exclusions never applied. If you buy delivered duty paid and your supplier is the importer of record, the duty is theirs at first, but expect it in your next quote. And if USTR publishes an extension before the deadline, the exclusions continue on whatever terms that notice sets.

Where PPC Spider helps

We track tariff and fee changes on our Amazon policy updates channel, alongside earlier changes like the de minimis suspension. When duty moves margin, our Amazon account management team resets bids and budgets to the new break-even point. Want to see where cost changes hit your ads first? Start with a free Amazon audit.

Sources

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