Updated 2026-09-25 · JCH Design & Manufacturing

Taiwan vs. China Tariffs for US Importers in 2026: What Actually Stacks

China-origin goods still carry the 2018 Section 301 lists, and since July 24, 2026 a 12.5% duty on top. Taiwan-origin goods are generally topped up to 10% combined. The 2026 rate stack, layer by layer, with the official sources.

Filed under Taiwan, origin and tariffs

For most of the last eight years the tariff conversation with a US buyer started the same way: should we get out of China? After a year in which the rules were rebuilt twice, the honest answer is still yes for a lot of products — but for a narrower, more specific set of reasons than the headlines suggest, and only if the move is real.

This note sets out the duty stack as it stands in late September 2026, what it means for Taiwan against China, and what it actually takes to move a program from one to the other. It is not a duty quote and it is not legal advice. A licensed customs broker should read your HTS line before you price anything.

How the stack works: four layers, added in order

A US import duty is almost never a single number. It is layers, and each one depends on something different.

The base (MFN) rate. Set by the product's classification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Taiwan and China both trade with the US on these ordinary rates. This layer depends on what the product is.
The 2018–2019 China Section 301 lists. An extra 25% on goods on Lists 1–3 and 7.5% on List 4A, with higher sector rates on some strategic products. These apply to China-origin goods only, and they are still in force (Great Lakes Customs Law).
The July 2026 Section 301 "forced-labor" action. Since 12:01 a.m. ET on July 24, 2026, an additional duty of generally 10% or 12.5% applies to goods from 60 trading partners that account for about 99.4% of US imports (Morgan Lewis). This layer depends on where the product is from.
Section 232. Steel, aluminum, copper and their derivatives, vehicles and parts, wood products and semiconductor articles carry their own national-security tariffs, whatever the origin. Under the new rules, articles already covered by Section 232 are exempt from the July 2026 forced-labor duty (Troutman). This layer depends on what the product is made of.

What changed in 2026

The reciprocal tariffs of 2025 were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Supreme Court invalidated IEEPA tariffs in February 2026 (Morgan Lewis). A proclamation on February 21 replaced them with a temporary 10% duty on most imports for 150 days under Section 122 (whitehouse.gov), effective February 24 (C.H. Robinson).

A pallet of black treaded ground protection mats, finished goods waiting to be shipped and assessed for US import duty — A pallet of finished goods. The duty is the base rate for its code plus every layer stacked on top.

That duty expired at midnight on July 23. The Section 301 forced-labor action took its place the next minute (Holland & Knight). Most economies pay a flat 10% or 12.5% on top of MFN. A handful are handled differently: for the EU and Taiwan, the MFN rate plus the new duty is capped at 10% combined, and if the MFN rate is already 10% or more, nothing is added (Honigman). The official texts are the presidential memorandum of July 23, 2026 and USTR's Federal Register notice.

One thing that did not change: the 2018–2019 China lists. The IEEPA ruling did not touch Section 301, so those duties still apply to China-origin goods.

China against Taiwan, on the same part

China was placed in the 12.5% group, and that duty stacks on top of the existing China lists. On a List 1–3 product, Honigman's summary puts the aggregate Section 301 tariff at 37.5% before the MFN rate is added (Honigman; Troutman).

Square steel tube stock on wooden pallets, raw material that changes a product tariff classification — Steel tube. For Section 232 goods, what a part is made of sets the duty wherever it is made.

Here is what that looks like on an illustrative plastic part. Assume an MFN rate of 3%. The rate is made up for the arithmetic; your HTS line sets the real one.

Origin and list status	MFN	China 301 list	July 2026 Section 301	Total on customs value
China, List 1–3 product	3%	25%	12.5%	40.5%
China, List 4A product	3%	7.5%	12.5%	23%
China, not on a list	3%	none	12.5%	15.5%
Taiwan	3%	none	7% (tops up to 10%)	10%

On a $100,000 shipment of that List 1–3 part, the difference between China and Taiwan origin is $30,500 in duty. On a product with no China list exposure, the gap shrinks to 5.5 points. On a steel or aluminum product covered by Section 232, the 232 rate applies whichever origin you choose, and the forced-labor layer is off the table for both; moving origin only saves the China list duty, if the product was on a list at all.

One date matters for China-origin goods. 178 product exclusions from the China lists are extended through November 10, 2026. Unless they are extended again, the full list duty snaps back for entries made on or after that date (Great Lakes Customs Law). If your program is riding an exclusion, that is a deadline.

What the 2026 rates mean for Taiwan against China

For China-origin goods on Lists 1–3 the gap is wide at today's rates, it is still meaningful for List 4A goods, and it is small where Section 232 metal content drives the duty. It only exists if the goods are genuinely Taiwan-origin.

The February 2026 US–Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade set a 15% all-in rate for Taiwan goods (USTR). How that rate applies after the February 2026 IEEPA ruling and the July 2026 action is still being worked out; current practice tops most Taiwan goods up to 10% under the July action. Rates change often: confirm with your customs broker (as of September 25, 2026).

What the rates do not settle is whether a move is worth making, or how to make one. Why Taiwan is a separate customs territory, and the steps of an actual move, are on the Taiwan origin page. The steps Jack follows for moving a program from China to Taiwan are on the process page.

What about the average tariff rate?

News reports quote an "average effective tariff rate", which Wharton's model put at 6.7% as of July 2026 (Penn Wharton Budget Model). It is total duty collected divided by total imports, so it blends products that carry the whole stack with products that carry almost nothing. Your product is either in the affected group or it is not. Its rate will not be the average.

The same goes for metal content. Under the Section 232 structure in effect since April 2026, high-metal-content products face a 50% rate and most derivative products 25%, applied to the full value of the product rather than just its metal (Yale Budget Lab). For those goods, the bill of materials matters more than the factory's address.

The origin on the entry has to match the floor. Get that right and Taiwan is a real answer to the China lists. Get it wrong and it is a more expensive way to pay the same duty later.

Straight answers

What tariffs apply to goods imported from China in 2026?

Usually several layers. The base MFN rate for the product's HTS code; the 2018–2019 China Section 301 list duty (25% on Lists 1–3, 7.5% on List 4A, higher on some strategic products); and, since July 24, 2026, a 12.5% Section 301 duty that stacks on top. Products covered by Section 232 (steel, aluminum, copper and derivatives, vehicles and parts, wood, semiconductors) pay the 232 rate instead of the July 2026 duty. The exact total depends on the HTS line.

Does the July 2026 Section 301 duty stack on the China tariff lists?

Yes. USTR's Federal Register notice for the July 2026 action keeps goods under the new duty subject to the other Chapter 99 duties, which include the 2018–2019 China Section 301 lists. A China-origin product on List 1–3 therefore pays its MFN rate plus 25% plus 12.5%, unless an exclusion or the Section 232 exemption applies.

What is the US tariff on goods from Taiwan in 2026?

Under the July 24, 2026 Section 301 action, a Taiwan-origin product whose MFN rate is below 10% is topped up to 10% combined; if its MFN rate is 10% or more, nothing is added. Section 232 goods pay their Section 232 rate instead. Rates change often, so confirm the current treatment of your HTS line with a customs broker.

If I move my China-made mold to Taiwan, are the parts Taiwan-origin?

Generally, a part molded in Taiwan from resin is a Taiwan product even if the mold was built in China, because the mold is equipment rather than an ingredient. Assembly is less clear-cut: assembling China-made subassemblies in Taiwan may not change their origin. For anything uncertain, a CBP binding ruling under 19 CFR Part 177 settles it before the first entry.

Do Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs change if I move production to Taiwan?

No. Section 232 duties apply to covered steel, aluminum, copper and derivative products whatever the country of origin. Goods already covered by Section 232 are exempt from the July 2026 Section 301 forced-labor duty. Moving a 232-covered product from China to Taiwan removes only the China Section 301 list duty, if the product was on a list.

What happens to Section 301 exclusions for China in November 2026?

178 product exclusions from the China Section 301 lists are extended through November 10, 2026. Unless they are extended again, the underlying list duty — 25% on Lists 1–3, 7.5% on List 4A — applies again to entries made on or after that date.