# Section 301 Exclusions: How to Check If Your Product Qualifies

Source: https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-06-section-301-exclusions-check.html

Cross-border operations guide · November 6, 2026


**Short answer:** Start with your 10-digit HTS code, run it through the USTR Section 301 lookup tool, then check the Chapter 99 endnotes for an active exclusion. The exclusion only helps if your product's description matches the Federal Register language line by line.

## The lookup takes five minutes

Every product subject to the Section 301 actions is identified by an 8-digit or 10-digit HTS subheading, and the USTR runs a free search tool for exactly this question. Enter the 8-digit HTS subheading and the tool returns whether the product is subject to the actions and the rate of additional duty. If you do not know the HTS subheading, the USTR page says to contact your supplier, distributor, or customs broker, because guessing the code is how importers pay duty they do not owe or miss duty they do.

Section 301 tariffs cover roughly 75 percent of all Chinese imports, affecting over $370 billion in goods at rates between 7.5 and 100 percent. The tariffs are organized into lists, and each list corresponds to a set of HTS codes with its own rate, reflected in Chapter 99 headings that usually start with 9903.88. The 2024 four-year review kept the tariffs in place and raised rates on strategic imports like electric vehicles, batteries, and medical supplies to 50 or even 100 percent.

The lookup is only the first step. A single HTS lookup is not the full picture, because the China 301 tariffs layer with other trade remedies. Check for Section 232 applicability on steel, aluminum, and autos, check antidumping orders, and check the Section 122 global tariff. One code can carry three stacked duties, and the lookup tool only shows you one of them.

## The exclusion is a description match, not a code match

Most exclusions are product-specific, which means your product has to meet the specific USTR descriptions in the corresponding Federal Register notices. Some exclusions are at the HTS level and can be claimed provided the product is properly classified, but product-specific exclusions account for more than 96 percent of the total. The code gets you in the door. The description decides whether you stay.

The match has to be exact. Pull the relevant Federal Register notice and compare your product specifications against the exclusion language line by line. A licensed customs broker with access to exclusion databases can give you a binding determination, but the work is the comparison: dimensions, materials, function, and use case, all against the published text. A product that is close to the description is not covered. Close does not count with CBP.

The approval history explains why. USTR approved roughly 35 percent of initial exclusion requests for Lists 1 and 2, but only 5 to 7 percent for Lists 3 and 4, according to the Congressional Research Service. Over the life of the program, just over 1,100 product-specific exclusions were granted. The process was never a formality, and the importers who won were the ones who treated the description as a specification, not a category.

## Claiming it, and keeping the proof

If an exclusion applies, the importer uses a specific exclusion code, such as 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70, alongside the primary HTS code to negate the Section 301 duty. The entry summary, CBP Form 7501, must report a dual classification: the product's primary classification and the Chapter 99 line. Getting the code wrong means paying the duty or having the entry rejected, and the rejection costs more than the duty would have.

Keep proof of eligibility ready. Shippers requesting refunds for previously paid duties, through a post-summary correction or a protest, must be able to provide CBP with proof of eligibility: product literature, descriptive illustrations, and product specifications. The time to gather that evidence is before the entry is filed, not when CBP asks for it a year later.

And watch the calendar. The 178 exclusions active as of March 2026 run through November 10, 2026. An exclusion that lapses stops applying on the entry date, so a shipment that clears the day after expiry pays the full rate. Set the reminder now, and re-run the lookup the week the extension expires. The tool is free, the check takes minutes, and the duty on a missed exclusion does not come back.

Keep reading: [Claiming USMCA after entry: the one year window importers miss](https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-06-usmca-post-importation-claim-window.md), [Entry summary rejection codes: fix the filing, not the shipment](https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-06-entry-summary-rejection-codes.md).

## Frequently asked questions

## How do I check if my product is on a Section 301 list?

The USTR provides a free online lookup tool. Enter the 8-digit HTS subheading and it returns which list applies, List 1, 2, 3, or 4A, and the current additional duty rate. Cross-reference with the USITC HTS database and look for Chapter 99 subheadings in the Special duty column.

## Why are Section 301 exclusions so hard to get?

Because approval was rare and the lists were strict. USTR approved roughly 35 percent of initial exclusion requests for Lists 1 and 2, but only 5 to 7 percent for Lists 3 and 4. Over the life of the program USTR granted just over 1,100 product-specific exclusions across all lists.

## Are any Section 301 exclusions still active?

Yes. As of March 2026, 178 Section 301 exclusions remain active, extended through November 10, 2026, following the U.S.-China trade agreement announced in October 2025. The extension date matters: an exclusion that lapses stops applying on the entry date, not the order date.

## How do I claim an exclusion on an entry?

The exclusion code, such as 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70, goes on the entry alongside the primary HTS code to negate the Section 301 duty. The entry must declare both the product's primary classification and the Chapter 99 line, and CBP Form 7501 carries both.