US ”non-stacking” rule

CBP has clarified that five specific types of tariffs are now subject to a “non-stacking” rule — meaning that only one applies, following a new hierarchy.

Now, you will review your product against these tariffs before filing, and, bar a few exceptions, will only apply the first tariff in the list

1. Section 232 Autos and Auto Parts, 2. IEEPA Canada Tariffs, 3. IEEPA Mexico Tariffs, 4. Section 232 Steel Tariffs, 5. Section 232 Aluminum Tariffs

For a while, there were questions about what it meant to be “subject to” these tariffs. Now we have clarity:

To be “subject to” one of these five duty regimes (and excluded from the others) means that duty of more than 0% is owed under the tariff action — i.e. the commodity falls under the tariffs and they are owed

Now, articles that qualify for preferential treatment under USMCA are also explicitly NOT presently considered “subject to” the 232 Auto parts tariff or the IEEPA Canada or IEEPA Mexico tariff

Refunds are now eligible:

For covered articles entered on or after March 4, 2025, where the accompanying duty payment included multiple tariff actions listed, importers may request a refund of the duties no longer due

While we have not seen a lot of retroactive relief throughout this tariff turmoil, this is a huge opportunity to importers affected by these tariffs

Further, it’s important you make sure that your sequencing and tariff calculations stay up to date.

If you’ve got a high volume of shipments subject to any of the emergency powers (IEEPA) tariffs, it’s important that you’re doing post-entry audits and that you have an agile process and system that can stay up to date with all of these ongoing changes