Tariff Rates on Solar Panels, EVs, Steel & Furniture from China (2026)

Ask what the tariff is on a Chinese-made solar panel, electric vehicle, steel coil, or sofa, and you will get a different answer depending on who you ask — because the number printed in the tariff schedule is rarely the number you pay. The most-favored-nation (MFN) base rate is just the first layer. Stacked on top are Section 301 duties, Section 232 national-security tariffs, and IEEPA reciprocal tariffs, plus two federal user fees. For Chinese-origin goods, those extra layers usually dwarf the base rate.

This post breaks down the real, stacked tariff rate for five representative products as of mid-2026, using the actual HTS codes importers file under. Each section shows the layers in order and the effective total. If you have read how to calculate import duty from China, this is the applied version: the same method, run across the categories people ask about most.

A note on these numbers before you trust them

The rates below are illustrative estimates current as of June 2026, calculated for representative HTS lines and a China country of origin. Tariff actions — especially Section 301 exclusions, IEEPA reciprocal rates, and Section 232 product scope — change frequently, sometimes with only days of notice. Treat every figure here as a planning estimate, not a filing instruction.

Two federal fees apply across all of these formal entries: the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) at 0.3464% of customs value, with a minimum of $33.58 and a maximum of $651.50 per entry, and the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) at 0.125% of customs value on ocean cargo only. Both are small relative to the duties but they do round up the effective rate. Before you file anything, verify your specific code and rates against the live HTSUS.

Solar panels: HTS 8541.43.0010

Crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules classify under HTS 8541.43.0010. On paper this is a duty-free product: the MFN base rate is 0%. From China, though, it is one of the more heavily layered lines on the schedule, because solar is a strategic-priority sector targeted under both the Section 301 program and the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs.

• MFN base duty: 0% — solar modules enter duty-free under the base HTSUS rate.
• Section 301 (List 4A): 25% — the solar action raised the additional duty on Chinese modules to 25%.
• IEEPA reciprocal: 10% — the reciprocal tariff on broad categories of Chinese goods adds another layer.
• MPF: 0.3464% of customs value (clamped to the $33.58–$651.50 band) and HMF: 0.125% on ocean freight.

Electric vehicles: HTS 8703.80.0000

Battery-electric passenger vehicles classify under HTS 8703.80.0000. The base MFN rate for passenger cars is a modest 2.5%, but Chinese-origin EVs are subject to the headline-grabbing Section 301 action that raised the additional duty to 100% — a deliberate, near-prohibitive rate aimed at the cost advantage of Chinese EV manufacturing. Layer the IEEPA reciprocal tariff on top and the math gets extreme.

• MFN base duty: 2.5% — the standard passenger-vehicle rate.
• Section 301 (EV action): 100% — the targeted action effectively doubles the value of the car in duty.
• IEEPA reciprocal: 10% — applied on top, as with other broad categories of Chinese goods.
• MPF and HMF — both apply, though they barely move the needle against a 100% duty.

EVs depend on batteries, so it is worth noting the related line. Lithium-ion battery cells and packs classify under HTS 8507.60.0020, with a 2.5%–3.4% base rate (3.4% on the line above), a 25% Section 301 duty, and the same 10% IEEPA reciprocal layer. That stack pushes battery imports well past 35% effective — a reminder that the duty exposure on electrified products extends up the supply chain, not just to the finished vehicle. Run the battery calculation to see it.

Steel and aluminum: HTS 7208.39.0000 & 7601.10.0000

Metals follow a different rulebook. Hot-rolled steel in coils classifies under HTS 7208.39.0000, and the dominant layer is not Section 301 but Section 232 — the national-security tariff on steel imports. Hot-rolled steel carries a 0% MFN base rate, with the 25% Section 232 duty doing the heavy lifting.

Unwrought aluminum classifies under HTS 7601.10.0000, with a 2.6% MFN base rate plus the 25% Section 232 aluminum tariff. The key difference from Section 301 is reach: Section 232 is not China-specific. It applies to steel and aluminum from most origins, which is why "move sourcing out of China" does not necessarily escape it.

• Hot-rolled steel — MFN base: 0% + Section 232: 25% → roughly 25% effective before fees.
• Unwrought aluminum — MFN base: 2.6% + Section 232: 25% → roughly 27.6% effective before fees.
• Section 232 is origin-broad — unlike Section 301, it is not limited to Chinese goods.
• MPF and HMF apply on top, as with every formal ocean entry.

Furniture: HTS 9403.60.8081 & 9401.61.4011

Furniture is the category that catches importers off guard, because the base rate is genuinely zero and the Section 301 layer is invisible in the base schedule. Wooden furniture classifies under HTS 9403.60.8081 with a 0% MFN base rate, and upholstered seats with wooden frames under HTS 9401.61.4011, also 0% base. Both fall under Section 301 List 3, which carries a 25% additional duty on Chinese-origin goods.

Because furniture sits on List 3 rather than the IEEPA-heavy lines, the dominant layer here is the 25% Section 301 duty. That alone turns a duty-free product into a 25%-plus liability — a meaningful margin hit for an industry where Chinese sourcing is still common.

• Wooden furniture — MFN base: 0% + Section 301 (List 3): 25% → roughly 25% effective before fees.
• Upholstered wooden-frame seats — MFN base: 0% + Section 301 (List 3): 25% → roughly 25% effective before fees.
• No headline warning in the base schedule — the 0% MFN rate hides the real cost.
• MPF and HMF apply on top of the 25% duty.

How to check any product

The five categories above share a pattern: the headline rate understates the real one, and the gap is filled by Section 301, Section 232, or IEEPA layers that are not printed next to the HTS code in the base schedule. To find the true rate for any product, work through it in the same order.

1. Confirm the 10-digit HTS code. Classification drives the base rate and which Section 301 list (if any) applies. A wrong subheading produces a wrong rate in both directions.
2. Check the MFN base rate in the HTSUS for that line.
3. Identify the trade-remedy layers — Section 301 (China-specific, by list), Section 232 (steel/aluminum, origin-broad), and IEEPA reciprocal (origin-specific).
4. Add the fees — MPF (0.3464%, clamped $33.58–$651.50) and HMF (0.125%, ocean only).
5. Verify against the live HTSUS before filing, because any of these layers can change without much notice.

Where Tariffloop fits

Calculating one product by hand is manageable. Keeping accurate, current rates across a full catalog — through constantly shifting Section 301 exclusions, IEEPA adjustments, and Section 232 scope changes — is not. That is the work that compounds, and where errors scale into real money.

Tariffloop automates the entire stack: it classifies your HTS codes, applies the correct Section 301, 232, and IEEPA layers by origin, monitors rate changes, and flags duty drawback you may be owed. The free tariff calculator shows you the math for one product; the platform runs it across everything you import. And as always, the figures in this post are illustrative estimates current as of June 2026 for representative HTS lines — verify your exact code and rate against the live HTSUS before you file.