Executive Order, CBP Guidance Detail Filing Procedures for Reciprocal Tariffs
The White House released a pre-publication copy of President Donald Trump’s executive order on reciprocal tariffs, with Annex III to the order detailing Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings that will be used for the tariffs that take effect at 12:01 a.m. on April 5 and on April 9.
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CBP subsequently issued a CSMS message on the reciprocal tariffs, confirming that drawback will be available for the tariffs. The executive order had indicated as much by being silent on the issue (see 2504020072), but some in the trade had wondered whether the omission was a mistake (see 2504030039).
The CSMS message also includes detailed filing instructions for the tariffs, including the order in which Chapter 99 subheadings should be reported for covered entries.
According to the order and the CSMS message, goods subject to the 10% tariff that takes effect for almost all goods April 5 will be filed under subheading 9903.01.25.
Goods subject to country-specific tariffs that begin April 9 will be filed under new subheadings 9903.01.43 through 9903.01.76, with countries grouped together based on their tariff rates. For example, subheading 9903.01.50 covers countries with a rate of 20%, which are the EU and Jordan.
Other notable subheadings include 9903.01.54, which covers countries with a rate of 25%, and currently lists only South Korea. Subheading 9903.01.55 covers India at 26%; 9903.01.61 sets a 32% tariff on Taiwan and Indonesia, and also Angola and Fiji; subheading 9903.01.63 covers China, including Hong Kong and Macau, at 34%; subheading 9903.01.65 is for tariffs on Thailand at 36%; subheading 9903.01.66 covers Bangladesh at 37%, and also Botswana, Liechtenstein and Serbia at that rate; and 9903.01.72 is for tariffs on Vietnam at 46%.
A series of subheadings also provides for exemptions to the tariffs. Subheadings 9903.01.26 and 9903.01.27 exempt goods subject to IEEPA tariffs on Canada and Mexico (including those covered by those tariffs’ USMCA exemption).
Subheading 9903.01.28 covers goods exempt because they're in transit when the tariffs take effect April 5. Subheading 9903.01.29 exempts goods of Russia, Belarus, Cuba and North Korea subject to the column 2 rate of duty. Subheadings 9903.01.30 and 9903.01.31 exempt donations and informational materials that can’t by law be covered by IEEPA tariffs, respectively.
Subheading 9903.01.32 covers goods exempt because they’re listed in Annex II to the executive order, and subheading 9903.01.33 exempts goods subject to Section 232 tariffs on iron and steel and aluminum products, as well as derivatives, and also goods subject to Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts.
Subheading 9903.01.34 is for any exempt U.S. content, which must rise above 20% to take advantage of the exemption.
The annex says Chapter 98 treatment is allowed for goods subject to the tariffs. It doesn’t mention drawback, which was also not mentioned in the executive order. Previous orders on IEEPA tariffs have explicitly barred drawback.
The order also specifies that the 10% tariff under subheading 9903.01.25 won’t stack with the country-specific tariffs when they take effect April 9. “Heading 9903.01.25 shall not apply to articles the product of the following countries entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 9, 2025, and that were not in transit on the final mode of transit prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 9, 2025.”
The order also details tariff treatment for Canada and Mexico should the IEEPA tariffs on those two countries be removed. Goods from Canada and Mexico would be filed under 9903.01.35 and 9903.01.39 at 12%, respectively. Canadian and Mexican USMCA goods would be exempt under subheadings 9903.01.36 and 9903.01.40. Canadian and Mexican energy and potash would be exempt under subheadings 9903.01.37 and 9903.01.41. And subheadings 9903.01.38 and 9903.01.42 would exempt “articles the products of” Canada and Mexico “eligible for duty-free treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that are parts or components that will be substantially finished in the United States.”