Forced-labor Section 301 — New Zealand — 12.5% additional duty

A Section 301 measure is a U.S. trade remedy that can impose an additional duty on specified products connected to a covered country, practice, or finding. “Additional duty” means it is generally added to the ordinary customs duty and other applicable import charges, rather than replacing them. The measure’s title and listed country help identify the policy basis, but the legal scope is controlled by the official product descriptions, tariff classifications, and any stated conditions or exclusions.

For an importer, the key concepts are “country of origin,” “tariff classification” (the product’s HTSUS code), and “scope.” A product may be affected if its origin and classification fall within the measure, even if it is shipped through another country or bought from a supplier outside the covered country. Forced-labor language signals heightened compliance attention, but do not assume that every product from the named country is covered; verify the official measure and consider customs-broker or trade counsel review when the scope is unclear.

What to check

• Confirm the product’s country of origin under U.S. origin rules, not merely its shipping or purchasing location.
• Verify the complete HTSUS classification and compare it with the measure’s covered tariff lines or product description.
• Read the official scope, exclusions, effective provisions, and any special filing instructions; do not rely on the title alone.
• Check whether the additional duty is separate from ordinary duty, antidumping or countervailing duties, and other import charges.
• Keep supplier records, bills of materials, production details, and origin support, and obtain broker or trade-counsel advice for ambiguous or forced-labor-related supply chains.