Forced-labor Section 301 — United Arab Emirates — 12.5% additional duty

A Section 301 measure is a U.S. trade action that can impose an additional duty on covered imported merchandise because of a foreign government’s trade practices or other conduct identified under Section 301 of the Trade Act. The measure applies based on the product’s tariff classification, country of origin, and the scope stated in the official measure—not simply because the goods passed through or were shipped from a particular country.

For an importer, an additional duty is generally collected in addition to the normal customs duty and other applicable import charges. A forced-labor-related measure may require careful review of the goods’ supply chain, origin, manufacturing steps, and documentation. The importer should compare the product’s HTSUS subheading and origin with the measure’s coverage and obtain customs-broker or trade-counsel advice when the scope or classification is uncertain.

What to check

• Confirm the product’s correct HTSUS classification, including any relevant statistical suffix, rather than relying only on a supplier’s description.
• Verify the legal country of origin and review whether the measure covers goods from that origin, including goods with components or processing from multiple countries.
• Read the official measure’s scope, exclusions, and any product-specific descriptions; do not assume every item associated with a country is covered.
• Check whether the additional duty is reported separately from the ordinary duty and identify the required entry-line tariff provision and customs instructions.
• Keep invoices, bills of materials, production records, origin documents, and supply-chain due-diligence evidence, and ask a customs broker or trade attorney to resolve uncertain cases.