Section 122 at 15%? The Announced Increase Never Took Effect — Calculate at 10% (Corrected)

# Section 122 at 15%? The Announced Increase Never Took Effect — Calculate at 10% (Corrected)

> Correction — updated July 11, 2026. An earlier version of this article reported that the Section 122 universal surcharge had been raised to 15%. That increase was announced in late February 2026 but was never implemented by proclamation, and CBP has collected 10% on every covered entry throughout. The article below has been corrected to reflect the operative 10% rate. For the full timeline of the announcement, the CBP guidance, and refund options if you were assessed 15% in error, see our rate status explainer.

The Section 122 universal import tariff is 10% — not 15%. If your landed-cost model uses 15%, you are over-stating duty on every non-USMCA shipment.

Here's what happened, what's actually in effect, and what you need to do.

What Actually Happened

On February 20, 2026, the Trump administration announced a new universal import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, following the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. The proclamation set a 10% rate, effective February 24, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. EST, running for the statutory maximum of 150 days and expiring July 24, 2026.

In late February the President also announced an intent to raise the rate to 15% — the statutory ceiling under Section 122. That increase was widely reported as if it were in effect, but no proclamation implementing it was ever issued, and CBP's guidance to ports of entry confirmed the assessed rate remained 10%.

The result: most US imports from most countries carry a 10% universal surcharge on top of existing MFN duties, Section 301 tariffs, and other charges — through the July 24, 2026 statutory expiration.

Who Is Exempt

Not everything is subject to the 10% surcharge. The February 24 proclamation carves out several categories:

Countries exempt from Section 122: - Canada and Mexico (USMCA-compliant goods only) - CAFTA-DR countries (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua) for textiles and apparel

Products exempt from Section 122: - Goods already subject to Section 232 tariffs (steel, aluminum, and derivative products) — these are NOT also subject to Section 122 - Critical minerals, metals used in currency, and bullion - Energy and energy products - Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients - Certain electronics and aerospace products - Passenger vehicles and related components - Select agricultural items (beef, tomatoes, oranges) - De minimis shipments are no longer exempt — low-value international postal goods now face the 10% duty

The Section 232 carve-out matters a lot. Steel importers already paying 50% Section 232 tariffs do NOT also owe the 10% Section 122 surcharge. These two tariffs do not stack.

How to Calculate Your New Landed Cost

For a typical non-USMCA, non-Section 232 shipment, your total US import duty is now:

Total duty = Base MFN rate + Section 301 (if China) + Section 122 (10%)

Example 1: Consumer electronics from Vietnam - Declared value: $50,000 - HTS 8528.72 (televisions) — MFN rate: 3.9% - Vietnam: no Section 301, no Section 232 - Section 122: 10% (Vietnam is not USMCA) - Total effective rate: 13.9% - Total duty: $6,950 on a $50,000 shipment - Landed cost: $56,950

At the incorrectly-reported 15% rate you would have calculated $9,450 in duty — a $2,500 overestimate on a single shipment.

Example 2: Apparel from Bangladesh - Declared value: $30,000 - HTS 6109.10 (cotton T-shirts) — MFN rate: 16.5% - Bangladesh: no Section 301, no Section 232 - Section 122: 10% - Total effective rate: 26.5% - Total duty: $7,950 - Landed cost: $37,950

Example 3: Steel pipe from Germany - Declared value: $100,000 - Section 232 applies at 50% - Section 122: EXEMPT — Section 232 products are carved out of Section 122 - Total effective rate: 50% (not 60%) - Total duty: $50,000

What About IEEPA Refunds?

Importers who paid IEEPA tariffs before the Supreme Court ruling may be entitled to refunds. On March 4, 2026, CIT Judge Richard Eaton ruled that all importers whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to refunds, and CBP has been instructed to liquidate affected entries without the IEEPA duties applied.

If you paid IEEPA tariffs between January and February 24, 2026, contact your customs broker about opening protest claims. CBP is expected to have automated refund processing in place by mid-April 2026.

What's Next

The 150-day Section 122 window expires July 24, 2026, unless Congress extends it. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated the administration intends to replace the temporary Section 122 tariffs with permanent expanded Section 301 and Section 232 coverage — so the rate may change again before expiry.

New Section 301 investigations were also opened in mid-March 2026 targeting China, the EU, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, and other countries for structural manufacturing overcapacity. These investigations typically take 12–18 months before any new rates are imposed, but importers from those countries should monitor developments.

Recalculate Now

Use the FreightFigures Duty & Tariff Calculator to run your shipments at the operative 10% Section 122 rate. The calculator reflects the current rate, the Section 232 exemption from Section 122, and all other current tariff layers.

If you're relying on landed cost estimates built on the reported 15% figure, rerun your numbers — the difference between 10% and 15% is material on any significant import volume, and over-reserving for duty distorts unit economics. And mark the calendar: the whole layer expires at 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 24, 2026 — see our expiration countdown and the bonded-warehouse play for cargo landing before then.

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