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The temporary 10% U.S. import surcharge under Section 122 expired at 12:01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026. As it expired, the Associated Press reported that new Section 301 tariffs took effect on imports from 60 trading partners, at rates ranging from 10% to 12.5%. The rate on a particular good can depend on its classification, origin, entry date, and applicable exceptions.
What changed when the Section 122 tariff expired?
A tariff is a duty on imported goods. The February 20, 2026, presidential proclamation imposed a temporary 10% ad valorem surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. “Ad valorem” means calculated as a percentage of the good’s value.
The proclamation scheduled the surcharge to run from February 24 until 12:01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026, unless it was suspended, modified, terminated, or extended earlier. It described Section 122 as authorizing a surcharge of up to 15% for no more than 150 days unless Congress extends the period. The administration said it was using the measure to address what it characterized as large and serious U.S. balance-of-payments deficits; that is the administration’s stated rationale.
At the expiration deadline, the policy shifted to Section 301 actions. The White House issued a memorandum on July 23, 2026, and AP reported that the new tariffs took effect as the temporary surcharge expired. This was a change in legal authority and policy, not simply an extension of the same 10% charge.
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How the temporary surcharge and replacement tariffs differ
| Measure | Authority and scope | Rate and timing | Important qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary surcharge | Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974; the February 20, 2026, White House proclamation cited U.S. balance-of-payments deficits as the administration’s rationale. | The proclamation set a 10% surcharge from February 24 to 12:01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026. It described the statutory limit as up to 15% for no more than 150 days without an Act of Congress extending it. | The proclamation allowed for earlier suspension, modification, or termination. Its scheduled period has passed. |
| Section 301 actions | A July 23, 2026, White House memorandum documents investigations into 60 economies over failures to prohibit or effectively enforce bans on imports made wholly or partly with forced labor. | AP reported that replacement tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect on imports from 60 trading partners as the Section 122 surcharge expired. | The memorandum describes different rate bands, exemptions, and textile tariff-rate quotas. AP also reported exceptions for products including oil and gas and fertilizer, and for goods qualifying for duty-free status under USMCA. Treatment varies by good and applicable rule. |
The 99% figure sometimes attached to the transition is AP’s description of the share of U.S. imports accounted for by the 60 trading partners. It is not a figure stated in the White House memorandum, and it does not mean every good from those partners is subject to the same tariff.
Why did the administration use Section 301?
The July 23 White House memorandum says the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative initiated the forced-labor investigations on March 12, 2026, and made determinations about actionable practices on June 2. The stated issue was whether trading partners prohibited imports made wholly or partly with forced labor and effectively enforced those prohibitions.
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U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told AP: “The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.” That is the administration’s justification for the actions, not independent verification that every trading partner has failed to enforce a ban.
How to tell whether a particular product is affected
A country-level headline is not enough to calculate the duty on a shipment. Import treatment can turn on the product’s tariff classification, country of origin, date of entry, and any applicable exclusion, trade-agreement rule, or quota. In particular, the memorandum’s textile tariff-rate quotas and the reported USMCA exception make it unsafe to assume one rate applies to every product from a named country.
- Classification: Identify the product’s applicable Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification.
- Origin: Establish the good’s country of origin under the rules that apply to it; a shipment’s routing alone does not establish its origin.
- Entry date: Check the rules in effect for the shipment’s date of entry. The temporary Section 122 period and the reported Section 301 transition had different dates and legal bases.
- Exceptions and quotas: Check whether the product qualifies for a listed exception, USMCA duty-free treatment, or a textile tariff-rate quota.
For a live shipment, consult the current HTSUS and relevant U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implementation guidance. The White House memorandum and AP’s report describe the broad policy transition; they do not establish the current line-by-line duty for every product. The Congressional Research Service’s Presidential 2025 Tariff Actions: Timeline and Status is historical context covering actions through December 31, 2025, not a current 2026 rate table.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Will tariffs make consumer prices go up?
AP describes tariffs as duties paid by importers and notes that importers often pass some costs along through higher consumer prices. That does not establish a uniform price increase for any particular product. The actual effect can vary by product and transaction, and the sources documenting this transition do not measure price changes across household purchases.
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For a personal budget, treat claims about a specific item’s price as separate from the tariff rate: a stated duty is not, by itself, proof that a retailer raised the shelf price by the same percentage. If a purchase is time-sensitive, compare the actual price and terms offered to you rather than estimating a future increase from a broad tariff headline.
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