Import duty on brass & metal decor from China to the US
Chinese brass & metal decor arriving by courier carries an estimated 12.5% – 18.3% duty. The $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies to it. Here is the whole calculation, with the rule behind each line.
$800 exemption It has been suspended for all non-postal modes since 24 June 2026, so this parcel needs a customs entry no matter how little it is worth.
This is a range, not a number, because the exact rate depends on your 10-digit HTS line — fibre content, construction, value per dozen. Anyone quoting a single figure without that detail is guessing.
| MFN (Column 1 General) dutyHTS 8306 | 0% – 5.8% |
|---|---|
| Section 301 country dutySection 301 (forced labour) | 12.5% |
| Total duty rate | 12.5% – 18.3% |
China Section 301 Lists 1–4A (2018 action) — may also apply
Separate from the 2026 forced-labour action, the 2018 China Section 301 tariffs are still in force and stack on top. Most consumer goods sit on List 4A at 7.5%; other lists run to 25%. The Federal Circuit upheld Lists 3 and 4A in September 2025. Current product exclusions are due to expire 10 November 2026. Whether your item is covered depends on its 10-digit HTS code.
If it applies: $7.50 – $25.00 on top (7.5% – 25%).
| Informal entry fee (Entry Type 11, automated) | $2.69 |
|---|---|
Charged per entry. A manual entry costs $8.06 instead. | |
| Express consignment fee (per waybill) | $1.34 |
Charged by CBP per individual waybill on express-carrier shipments. | |
| Carrier brokerage / disbursement fee | varies |
Set by the carrier, not by CBP, and it is usually the largest fee on a small parcel. Carriers charge it for advancing the duty on your buyer's behalf. We do not quote a number because we have not verified current published rates — check your carrier's fee schedule. | |
What has to be on the paperwork
- Commercial invoice showing a realistic transaction value
- Country of origin for each item (where it was made, not where you posted it)
- 10-digit HTSUS classification for each item
- Accurate goods description — "gift", "sample" and "no commercial value" are what get parcels held
- Your buyer's full name, address and phone number
Every number above, traced to its source
- USITC HTS headings 8306–8307 (General rates) verified 1 August 2026
- USTR Notice of Action §II.B.12 (doc 2026-15181) verified 1 August 2026
- CBP interim final rule, 91 FR 37789 (doc 2026-12670) verified 1 August 2026
- E.O. 14389, 91 FR 9437 (doc 2026-03832) verified 1 August 2026
- Proclamation 11012, 91 FR 9339, cl. 7 (doc 2026-03824) verified 1 August 2026
- CBP Dec. 25-10, customs user fees FY2026 (doc 2025-13869) verified 1 August 2026
- USTR Section 301 — China verified 1 August 2026 secondary source
Brass & metal decor specifically
Bells, statuettes, ornaments, photograph frames and mirrors of base metal, heading 8306, run from free to 5.8%. Statuettes and ornaments are commonly free. If an item is partly steel, aluminium or copper, check whether a Section 232 metals tariff reaches it — that is a separate regime this calculator does not model.
Shipping from China
China is in the 12.5% band. It is also the one origin where a second, older Section 301 action stacks on top, so a Chinese parcel can carry both.
Sending it by courier
De minimis has been suspended for this mode since 24 June 2026, so there is no value floor — a $15 parcel gets an entry just like a $1,500 one. Below $2,500 the normal path is Entry Type 11 informal entry; above it, formal entry. The carrier almost always files on your buyer's behalf and then bills the duty plus its own brokerage or disbursement fee to whoever the incoterm makes liable.
The rules behind this estimate
In forceEndedUpcomingConditional
The 10% across-the-board surcharge expired on 24 July 2026 Expired
Between 24 February and 24 July 2026 almost everything entering the US carried an extra 10% Section 122 balance-of-payments surcharge under Proclamation 11012. Section 122 caps such a surcharge at 150 days unless Congress extends it, Congress did not, and it lapsed by operation of law at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 24 July 2026. It is no longer collected. If you are comparing a quote against an invoice from June or early July, that 10 percentage points is the difference.
What replaced it: Section 301 forced-labour tariffs, live since 24 July 2026 In force
The same instant the surcharge lapsed, a new country-level duty took its place. USTR investigated 60 economies over their failure to impose and enforce a prohibition on importing goods made with forced labour, and now applies 10% or 12.5% ad valorem to all goods of each, with annex exemptions. It took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on 24 July 2026. Goods already loaded and in transit before that moment and entered before 28 July 2026 were spared; everything since is caught. This is now the main country-level add-on on top of the ordinary MFN duty rate.
Some products are exempt — and we cannot read the list for you Conditional
Annexes I and II of the USTR notice exempt specific HTS lines from the Section 301 tariff for each economy. In the Federal Register those annexes are published as scanned page images, not as text, so they cannot be encoded here and this calculator does not apply them. If your product is exempt, your real duty is lower than the estimate below. Check the annex against your 10-digit HTS code before you price anything.
The $800 de minimis exemption is gone for courier and freight In force
Since 24 June 2026 the $800 de minimis exemption is indefinitely suspended for every mode of importation except the international postal network. Any shipment arriving by courier, express, air, ocean or truck — whatever it is worth, even $12 — must now go through formal or informal entry procedures. Entry Type 86 is suspended and release-from-manifest is no longer available, which leaves Entry Type 11 informal entry as the normal path for shipments valued at $2,500 or less.
Reciprocal tariffs were abolished in February 2026 — ignore any page that still quotes them Terminated
This is the one almost every other site still gets wrong. On 20 February 2026, Executive Order 14389 terminated all additional ad-valorem duties imposed under IEEPA — including the reciprocal-tariff regime of E.O. 14257, along with the Canada, Mexico, China-fentanyl, Brazil, Russia, Cuba, Iran and Venezuela-oil duty orders. The order states those duties "shall no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, shall no longer be collected." If a landed-cost calculator is still adding a 26%, 34% or 50% "reciprocal tariff" for your country, it is quoting a rule that has been dead since February.
Get told when these rules change
US import rules for small sellers changed three times in 2026 — February, June and July. When the next one lands, you get one plain-English email. No schedule, no filler; some months there is nothing to send.
The alert list is not open yet. It will appear here once it is.
Other products from China
- Silver jewelry
- Imitation jewelry
- Silk sarees & silk fabric
- Cotton apparel
- Silk apparel & blouses
- Bags, cases & pouches
- Leather goods & accessories
- Rugs & floor coverings
- Ceramics & pottery
- Wooden decor & carvings
- Candles
- Soap & cosmetics
- Toys & games
- Books
- Art prints & posters
- Stationery & paper goods
- Musical instruments
- Packaged spices