Tariff monitor

What manufacturing imports actually pay at the border.

Month-by-month effective tariff rates from 2014-01 through 2026-05 — 3,272 observations across 28 manufacturing families — beside the statutory rates of the 2026 Harmonized Tariff Schedule's 872 covered lines. Refreshed automatically from USITC data.

Statutory vs effective, explained

  • The statutory rate is what the Harmonized Tariff Schedule prints: the MFN (column 1, general) duty for each 8-digit line, plus special-program preferences and Chapter 99 overlay flags.
  • The effective rate is empirical: calculated duties actually collected divided by the customs value of imports for consumption, from USITC DataWeb. It captures Section 301/232 overlays, exclusions, and program use the schedule cannot show. The gap between the two columns is the real story of current trade policy.
  • Reference statistics derived from USITC published data. Not a customs ruling; verify rates with a licensed customs broker before relying on them.

Highest effective rates right now

  • Steel fasteners: 35.91% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free–12.5%
  • Iron and steel castings and articles: 34.54% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free–8.6%
  • Aluminum semi-finished products: 32.81% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free–6.5%
  • Aluminum articles: 31.11% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free–6%
  • Stainless steel mill products: 26.03% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free
  • Steel pipe and tube: 25.63% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free
  • Hand tools: 24.8% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free–12% (+4 see schedule)
  • Steel flat-rolled products: 23.88% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free
  • Steel bar, rod, and wire: 22.09% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN Free
  • Bearings: 21.61% effective (2025) vs statutory MFN 2.4%–9.9%

Biggest 12-month moves

  • Copper semi-finished products: 1.68% to 40.87% effective (+39.2 pts, year to 2026-05)
  • Aluminum semi-finished products: 25.97% to 54.12% effective (+28.1 pts, year to 2026-05)
  • Steel flat-rolled products: 23.28% to 47.91% effective (+24.6 pts, year to 2026-05)
  • Stainless steel mill products: 19.46% to 43.74% effective (+24.3 pts, year to 2026-05)
  • Steel pipe and tube: 21% to 42.96% effective (+22 pts, year to 2026-05)
  • Steel fasteners: 33.98% to 52.13% effective (+18.2 pts, year to 2026-05)

All tracked families

  • Steel flat-rolled products (HTS 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212): 69 lines
  • Steel bar, rod, and wire (HTS 7213, 7214, 7215, 7216, 7217): 49 lines
  • Stainless steel mill products (HTS 7219, 7220, 7221, 7222, 7223): 33 lines
  • Steel pipe and tube (HTS 7304, 7305, 7306): 78 lines
  • Fabricated structural steel (HTS 7308): 9 lines
  • Steel fasteners (HTS 7318): 17 lines
  • Iron and steel castings and articles (HTS 7325, 7326): 13 lines
  • Copper semi-finished products (HTS 7407, 7408, 7409, 7410, 7411): 50 lines
  • Aluminum semi-finished products (HTS 7604, 7605, 7606, 7607, 7608): 29 lines
  • Aluminum articles (HTS 7616): 8 lines
  • Hand tools (HTS 8203, 8204, 8205): 36 lines
  • Cutting tools and inserts (HTS 8207, 8208, 8209): 30 lines
  • Metal-cutting machine tools (HTS 8456, 8457, 8458, 8459, 8460, 8461): 59 lines
  • Metal-forming machine tools (HTS 8462, 8463): 30 lines
  • Molds and die sets (HTS 8480): 12 lines
  • Pumps for liquids (HTS 8413): 16 lines
  • Compressors and fans (HTS 8414): 21 lines
  • Lifting and handling equipment (HTS 8427, 8428): 15 lines
  • Valves and fluid controls (HTS 8481): 14 lines
  • Bearings (HTS 8482): 14 lines
  • Gears and power transmission (HTS 8483): 24 lines
  • Electric motors and generators (HTS 8501, 8503): 55 lines
  • Transformers and power supplies (HTS 8504): 22 lines
  • Welding equipment (HTS 8515): 9 lines
  • Insulated wire and cable (HTS 8544): 15 lines
  • Plastics in primary forms (HTS 3901, 3902, 3903, 3904, 3906, 3907, 3908): 54 lines
  • Plastic semi-finished products (HTS 3916, 3917, 3920, 3921): 65 lines
  • Measuring and inspection instruments (HTS 9026, 9031): 26 lines

Tariff Watch: recent federal actions

  • 2026-07-20: Notice of Action: Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illeg (Notice, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-20: Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 43, Notification of Proposed Production Activity; Pfizer Inc.; (Pharmaceutical Products); Kalamazoo and Portage, Michigan (Notice, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-20: Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 93, Notification of Proposed Production Activity; Linde Gas & Equipment Inc.; (High Purity Gases for Semiconductor Manufacturing); Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (Notice, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-20: Action by the United States in the Investigation Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 of Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption En (Presidential Document, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-16: Xanthan Gum From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2023-2024 (Notice, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-15: Adjusting Imports of Commercial Aircraft, Jet Engines, and Aircraft and Engine Parts Into the United States (Presidential Document, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-10: Comprehensive Listing of Transactional Documents for Mortgagors, Mortgagees and Contractors (Notice, Federal Register)
  • 2026-07-08: Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension; Court-Ordered Refunds Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Worksheet (Notice, Federal Register)

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.