2026 HTS Revision 15: UK Patented Pharmaceuticals Cut to 0%
2026 HTS Revision 15 (August 3, 2026) cut the Section 232 tariff on UK patented pharmaceuticals under 9903.04.63 from 10% to 0%, back to July 31.
Brendan McLaughlinFounder of HTS Hero- Published
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Key takeaways
- 2026 HTS Revision 15 took effect on August 3, 2026, and made a single change to Chapter 99.
- Heading 9903.04.63, for patented pharmaceuticals that are products of the United Kingdom, changed from the applicable subheading duty + 10% to + 0%.
- The 0% rate is effective July 31, 2026, the day the heading itself started, so it covers every entry under 9903.04.63.
- On $10,000 of a UK patented medicine, the additional Section 232 duty went from $1,000 to $0.
2026 HTS Revision 15 is a short one. Its change record has exactly one line, and it's good news for anyone bringing in patented medicines from the United Kingdom. The 10% Section 232 rate that applied to them under heading 9903.04.63 in Revision 14 is now 0%, and it reaches back to July 31, 2026, the start of the pharmaceutical tariffs.
At a glance
| Revision | 2026 HTS Revision 15 |
| In force from | August 3, 2026 |
| Tariff changes effective | July 31, 2026 |
| Programs affected | Section 232 pharmaceuticals |
| Previous revision | Revision 14 |
| Next revision | Revision 16 |
What changed
UK patented pharmaceuticals (9903.04.63): 10% to 0%
Heading 9903.04.63 covers patented pharmaceutical articles that are products of the United Kingdom, as defined in U.S. note 40(c) and (g) to Chapter 99. The change record lists it as "Modified (rates of duty)", effective July 31, 2026.
| Revision 14 | Revision 15 | |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | 9903.04.63 | 9903.04.63 |
| General and Special rate | Applicable subheading duty + 10% | Applicable subheading duty + 0% |
| Column 2 | Applicable subheading duty | Unchanged |
The rules for when 9903.04.63 applies (note 40(g)) didn't change. UK patented pharmaceuticals still enter under their own heading, so they stay out of the up-to-100% rate under 9903.04.60 that applies to countries without a deal.
Effective from day one
July 31, 2026 is the date the UK heading itself started. So the 0% rate covers the heading's whole life, and no entry under 9903.04.63 should have paid the 10%.
Everything else
Nothing else in Chapter 99 changed in this revision. The other pharmaceutical headings, including those for the EU, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, kept their Revision 14 rates.
What it means for importers
On $10,000 of a UK patented medicine entered on or after July 31, 2026:
| Heading | Additional Section 232 duty | |
|---|---|---|
| Under Revision 14 | 9903.04.63: + 10% | $1,000 |
| Under Revision 15 | 9903.04.63: + 0% | $0 |
If you entered UK patented pharmaceuticals between July 31 and August 2, while Revision 14 was current, and paid the 10%, look at those entries again. The change record dates the 0% rate to July 31, so they fall under it too, and any refund runs through CBP's normal processes, such as a post-summary correction or a protest.
For everyone else, Revision 15 doesn't change the math. The next revision, which added a Section 201 safeguard on quartz surface products, is a much bigger one. For later changes to the pharmaceutical tariff itself, including a new R&D exemption, see Revision 20, and for every 2026 revision, the 2026 HTS revisions hub.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in 2026 HTS Revision 15?
One thing. Revision 15, in force from August 3, 2026, changed heading 9903.04.63 for patented pharmaceuticals of the United Kingdom from the applicable subheading duty + 10% to + 0%, effective July 31, 2026. Nothing else in Chapter 99 changed.
Do UK patented pharmaceuticals pay the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariff?
Not as an additional duty. Since HTS Revision 15, heading 9903.04.63 sets the rate for patented pharmaceuticals that are products of the United Kingdom at the duty of the applicable subheading + 0%, effective July 31, 2026.
Is the 0% rate for UK pharmaceuticals retroactive?
Yes. Revision 15 took effect on August 3, 2026, but the change record dates the new rate to July 31, 2026, when heading 9903.04.63 first applied. Entries made from July 31 with the earlier 10% rate are covered by the change.
Sources
The official documents this article is based on
Brendan McLaughlin · Founder of HTS Hero
Brendan is the founder of HTS Hero and a self-proclaimed tariff nerd. He has spent more than a year building and maintaining HTS Hero's tariff calculator, which meant reading every government tariff update and all 4,000+ pages of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, across many revisions. He writes about US tariffs regularly on LinkedIn.
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