U.S. Customs Updates Section 301 Exclusion Filing Guidance for Chinese Goods
CBP updated filing guidance for five Section 301 exclusions covering Chinese goods, addressing the corresponding HTSUS 10-digit statistical codes after revisions.
What are the key facts?
- 1CBP update issued on October 22, 2026
- 2Conforming revisions to five Section 301 exclusions for Chinese goods
- 3ACE begins accepting new filings at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 23, 2026
- 4Changes address the correspondence of revised HTSUS 10-digit statistical codes
- 5A mismatch may prevent the exclusion from applying or trigger additional duties
What happened?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an update on October 22, 2026, concerning conforming revisions made by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to five Section 301 exclusion provisions for Chinese goods. The relevant ACE system will accept filings under the new conforming revisions beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 23, 2026. The changes primarily address the corresponding HTSUS 10-digit statistical codes following adjustments effective July 1, 2026, and apply to cross-border sellers, importers, customs brokers, and logistics service providers importing from China and claiming the relevant tariff exclusions. Sellers need to recheck the 10-digit HTS codes, country of origin, product descriptions, and the applicability of the exclusion provisions. If the codes do not match the new revisions, the exclusion benefit may not apply, additional duties may be owed, or customs documentation may need to be corrected. This is an update to filing and tariff-exclusion rules rather than a platform fee adjustment, but it will directly affect the costs and filing compliance of goods shipped from China to the United States.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Goods shipped from China to the United States under a claimed Section 301 tariff exclusion require a renewed check of the HTSUS 10-digit code and its correspondence with the exclusion provision. A mismatch in the code, origin, or product description may result in loss of the exclusion, additional duties, or requests to correct customs documents.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, review item by item the HTSUS 10-digit code effective after the July 1, 2026 adjustment, country of origin, and product description for the five goods shipped from China to the United States with claimed exclusions. Prepare a checklist and reach an applicability conclusion for all five items.HS duty estimate
- 2After 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 23, 2026, send the updated five-item code correspondence table to customs brokers and logistics service providers, require affected orders to be filed under the new conforming revisions, and retain ACE filing receipts or a list of items pending correction.
- 3Use an HS-code tariff estimation tool to recalculate U.S. import duties for the above goods using the new 10-digit codes. Record the exclusion applicability or additional-duty risk for each store listing and produce a cost review table for pricing and inventory decisions.