US tariff changes in January 2027: what importers need to re-quote now

Five dated US tariff changes fall between 4 December 2026 and 10 January 2027. On 1 January the Section 232 duty on kitchen cabinets and vanities doubles, from 25% to 50%.

Every rate below is the total US duty rate on the customs value for one tariff line from one origin: the MFN duty plus Section 301, the forced-labor tariff and Section 232 where they apply. All of them were checked on 13 November 2026 against the Zentria Flow tariff engine, which reads HTSUS 2026 Revision 23, by asking it for the day before and the day of each change. They are an estimate for planning, not a customs ruling.

The dates at a glance

The full list, with every example the engine prices, is on the US tariff changes calendar.

1 January: Section 232 on wood products

The Section 232 tariff on wood products has been in force since 14 October 2025. Proclamation 11000 (91 FR 1039) raises two of its rates on 1 January 2027:

• Completed kitchen cabinets and vanities and their parts (heading 9903.76.03): from 25% to 50%.
• Upholstered wooden furniture (heading 9903.76.02): from 25% to 30%.

Wooden kitchen cabinets from Vietnam (9403.40.9060) go from 25% to 50%. On a $50,000 entry that is $25,000 of duty where it was $12,500. The same cabinets from China also pay 25% under Section 301, so they go from 50% to 75%. Upholstered wooden chairs (9401.61.4011) go from 25% to 30% from Vietnam and from 50% to 55% from China.

Three things do not change. Softwood lumber stays at 10%. Goods of the United Kingdom stay at 10%, and goods of the EU, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stay at 15%: German kitchen cabinets pay 15% before and after the date. And goods covered by this tariff still do not pay the forced-labor tariff on top.

The exact line matters. Under 9403.40.90 only one of the three statistical lines, 9403.40.9060, is covered. Line 9403.60.8093 is covered only when the goods are bathroom vanities or parts of cabinets or vanities, which the code alone cannot tell. HTSUS Revision 23 still prints 25%; the January rates come from the proclamation.

1 January: Nicaragua and the CAFTA-DR condition

A Section 301 duty on products of Nicaragua starts at 10% on 1 January 2027 and rises to 15% on 1 January 2028 (heading 9903.89.01, HTSUS chapter 99, U.S. note 29; the rate for 2026 is 0%). It is charged in addition to the MFN duty and, where the line is not exempt, the 12.5% forced-labor tariff.

The duty does not apply to goods that originate under CAFTA-DR (note 29(a)). A tariff check carries no CAFTA-DR claim, so the engine prices goods entered with no claim, on every layer, and states the claimed case next to the result:

• Roasted coffee (0901.21.00): 0% in 2026, 10% from 1 January 2027.
• Cigars (2402.10.80): 36% in 2026 (23.5% MFN plus the 12.5% forced-labor tariff), 46% from 1 January 2027.
• Cotton T-shirts (6109.10.00) with no CAFTA-DR claim: 29% in 2026 (16.5% MFN plus 12.5%), 39% from 1 January 2027.
• The same T-shirts when they originate under CAFTA-DR and are entered free of duty under it: 0%. They pay no MFN duty, no forced-labor tariff (note 52(i)) and no Nicaragua duty (note 29(a)).

For goods that are not textiles or apparel, a CAFTA-DR claim removes the Nicaragua duty and replaces the MFN duty with the CAFTA-DR rate, but the forced-labor tariff still applies where the line is not exempt. The engine holds no CAFTA-DR preferential rates, so it gives no total for that case.

9 and 10 January: China Section 301 exclusions

USTR's 178 product exclusions from the China Section 301 duties (headings 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70, U.S. note 20(vvv) and (www)) run through 9 January 2027. From 10 January an excluded product pays its List 1, 2, 3 or 4A rate again, on top of the MFN duty and the 12.5% forced-labor tariff, which it pays today.

• Air brakes for rail cars (8607.21.1000): 16.1% today (3.6% MFN plus 12.5%), 41.1% from 10 January with the 25% List 1 rate.
• Clinical infrared thermometers (9025.19.8010): from 12.5% to 37.5% with the 25% List 2 rate.
• Nonwoven disposable surgical gowns (6210.10.5010): from 12.5% to 20% with the 7.5% List 4A rate.

Only 27 of the 178 exclusions cover whole statistical lines (29 ten-digit lines), and the engine prices those at 0% Section 301 until the date. The other 151 cover a described product within a line: the HTS code cannot decide them, so the engine shows the list rate and names the excluded product. Find a product on the list of all 178 exclusions.

The end date has moved before. It was 9 November 2026 until USTR extended every exclusion in a notice published on 10 November (FR Doc. 2026-22925).

10 January: maritime Section 301 on cranes and chassis

USTR has suspended its additional 100% maritime Section 301 duty until 10 January 2027 (FR Doc. 2026-22867). Unless it is suspended again, it applies from that date to two products of China (and to ship-to-shore cranes from other origins that have listed Chinese components or a Chinese-controlled maker):

• Ship-to-shore gantry cranes in 8426.19.00 (heading 9903.91.14), on top of the 25% they already pay under heading 9903.92.10: 125% in all on top of MFN. Cranes under a sales contract dated before 17 April 2025 and entered before 18 April 2027 are exempt (heading 9903.91.16).
• Intermodal chassis, their subassemblies and parts in 8716.39.0090, 8716.90.30 and 8716.90.50 (heading 9903.91.12).

Other cranes and trailers in those codes pay nothing extra. Because the code cannot tell which product it is, the engine shows this duty as a notice and never adds it to a total. If you import either product, price it by hand.

Just before: solar on 4 December

One change lands before the turn of the year. From 4 December 2026, solar cells, modules and certain silicon wafers pay a new 15% Section 232 duty (Proclamation 11052), and it stacks with the forced-labor tariff. Chinese solar modules (8541.43.00) go from 62.5% to 77.5%. German modules go from 10% to 25%: for the EU, the 15% covers the MFN duty and Section 232 only, and the 10% forced-labor tariff is charged on top.

The entry date decides the rate

None of these rates looks at when you ordered, paid or shipped. The rate follows the date the goods are entered for consumption in the United States. A container of cabinets ordered in October and entered on 31 December pays 25%. The same container entered on 2 January pays 50%.

That makes entry timing worth a conversation with your customs broker now, while vessel schedules can still be changed. It is also a reason to quote January deliveries at the January rate.

What "can be extended, changed or withdrawn" means

A scheduled rate is the law as it stands today, not a forecast. Three of these dates could move:

• The exclusions end after 9 January unless USTR extends them, as it did in November.
• The maritime duty starts on 10 January unless USTR suspends it again.
• A proclamation can be amended by a later one. Proclamation 11000 is itself an amendment to the proclamation that set the wood tariff (Proclamation 10976).

So plan for the scheduled rate and watch the date. A quote that assumes an extension is a bet.

What to do this week

1. Re-quote landed cost for every shipment that will be entered on or after 1 January, at the January rate.
2. Check the exact HTS line, to ten digits. Coverage of the wood tariff and of the exclusions changes from one statistical line to the next.
3. Ask your customs broker about entry timing for goods that arrive around 1 January and 10 January.
4. Put the affected products on a watchlist, which re-prices them when a tariff changes and emails you.

To see any product on any date, open the dated tariff checker, enter the HTS code and origin, and pick the entry date. For example: kitchen cabinets from Vietnam on 1 January 2027.

Questions importers are asking

What US tariffs change on 1 January 2027?

Two changes are dated 1 January 2027. The Section 232 tariff on wood products rises from 25% to 50% on kitchen cabinets and vanities and from 25% to 30% on upholstered wooden furniture (Proclamation 11000). A new Section 301 duty of 10% starts on products of Nicaragua that do not originate under CAFTA-DR (heading 9903.89.01), and it rises to 15% on 1 January 2028.

Do kitchen cabinets that are already on the water pay 25% or 50%?

The entry date decides, not the order date or the sailing date. Cabinets entered before 1 January 2027 pay the 25% Section 232 rate. Cabinets entered on or after that date pay 50%, even when they were ordered and shipped in 2026.

Do the China Section 301 exclusions expire in January 2027?

As the law stands, yes. The 178 product exclusions under headings 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70 run through 9 January 2027, so from 10 January 2027 an excluded product pays its List 1, 2, 3 or 4A rate again. USTR has extended these exclusions before and can extend them again.

Does the Nicaragua tariff apply to CAFTA-DR goods?

No. The Nicaragua Section 301 duty does not apply to goods that originate under CAFTA-DR (HTSUS chapter 99, U.S. note 29(a)). Goods of Nicaragua entered with no CAFTA-DR claim pay it on top of the MFN duty and, where the line is not exempt, the forced-labor tariff.

Does the 100% tariff on Chinese ship-to-shore cranes and chassis start on 10 January 2027?

USTR's suspension of the additional 100% maritime Section 301 duty runs until 10 January 2027 (FR Doc. 2026-22867). Unless USTR suspends it again, the duty applies from that date to ship-to-shore gantry cranes and to intermodal chassis of China. Other goods in the same tariff codes pay nothing extra.

Are these January 2027 rates final?

No. They are the rates scheduled as the law stood on 13 November 2026. A scheduled change can be extended, changed or withdrawn before it starts. The figures are an estimate for planning, not a customs ruling.

Sources as the engine cites them: HTSUS 2026 Revision 23, chapter 99, U.S. notes 20(vvv) and (www), 29, 31(k) and (l), 37 and 52; Proclamations 11000 and 11052; FR Doc. 2026-22925 and FR Doc. 2026-22867. Zentria Flow covers imports into 70+ countries; this article covers the United States only.