2026 HTS Revision 14: 100% Section 232 Pharmaceutical Tariff

2026 HTS Revision 14 brings in the Section 232 tariff on pharmaceuticals, under Proclamation 11020, from July 31, 2026. The headline rate is steep: 100% in total for a patented drug under heading 9903.04.60. Most of the detail is in who pays less: 15% in total for Japan, the EU, South Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and nothing for generics and several other groups.

At a glance

What changed

Which pharmaceuticals are covered

The tariff applies to articles classified in the provisions listed in U.S. note 40(c): 131 ten-digit statistical lines in chapters 29 and 30, covering active ingredients, hormones, antibiotics, blood products and medicaments. Headings 9903.04.60 to 9903.04.69 are mutually exclusive, so each product enters under exactly one. A pharmaceutical article falls under 9903.04.60 unless another heading applies.

Section 232 pharmaceutical tariff rates

The duties apply in addition to any special rate, so a free trade agreement claim doesn't remove them. Column 2 goods pay no additional pharmaceutical duty.

Exemptions: generics, specialty drugs and more

These headings carry no pharmaceutical duty:

• 9903.04.61: products imported for companies identified by the Secretary of Commerce, entered before September 29, 2026;
• 9903.04.65: companies with an onshoring plan and a Most-Favored-Nation pricing agreement;
• 9903.04.66: listed specialty products, including orphan drugs, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived products, fertility treatments and cell and gene therapies;
• 9903.04.67: generic pharmaceuticals;
• 9903.04.68: products whose active ingredient is a product of the United States, packaged in dosage form;
• 9903.04.69: articles in the listed provisions that aren't pharmaceutical articles.

Patented drugs drop out of the Brazil and forced-labor duties

Notes 50(a)(vi)(8) and 52(f)(8) now list patented pharmaceuticals under 9903.04.60 to 9903.04.66 as Section 232 articles. From July 31, those products are exempt from Brazil's 25% (9903.05.07) and from the Section 301 forced-labor country rates (9903.05.90). Generics, U.S.-ingredient products and non-pharmaceutical articles aren't on that list, so the country rate still applies to them.

What it means for importers

On $10,000 of a listed pharmaceutical ingredient under 2918.99.30.00 (base rate free), entered August 1, 2026:

The India rows that pay 10% assume the ingredient isn't claimed under 9903.05.89, the forced-labor exemption for articles for use in pharmaceutical applications (note 52(e)). If it qualifies, the country rate drops away. Nearly all finished medicines under heading 3004 (every subheading except 3004.43.00) sit on note 52(b)'s list, so they don't pay the country rate at all. See US tariff stacking rules for how these exemptions interact.

Under note 40(a), a pharmaceutical article falls under the 100% heading unless another heading applies. If you import anything in chapters 29 or 30, check your lines against note 40(c), then work out which of the ten headings fits each product and what documents you'll need to support it. The duty calculator applies these headings by entry date and asks the questions (generic, onshoring plan, specialty product) that decide which one fits. For every 2026 revision in one place, see the 2026 HTS revisions hub.