The One Update You Cannot Ignore This Week
The U.S. just quietly extended one of the most valuable tariff breaks for brands that import from China. Most founders will miss this update. The ones who catch it will protect margin and possibly unlock refunds.
USTR extended the big Section 301 exclusions until November 10, 2026. These exclusions cover 178 product lines ranging from electronics parts to industrial components to solar and EV items.
Here is the official source:
https://ustr.gov
If you import anything that touches China, even if it is only one component, this gives you extra runway to keep duty costs down. But only if you are filing correctly. Most brands are not.
Let’s fix that.
Four Checks Every Founder Should Run This Week
1. Make sure you actually claimed the exclusion
Plenty of brands think they got the benefit, but when they look at the customs entry, the broker never applied the exclusion.
Action: Pull your last 90 days of entries and confirm the HTS code and exclusion reference match the updated list.
2. Update your landed cost model for 2026
Suppliers in China are already adjusting pricing based on raw material tariffs. Some are rolling those costs into quotes without telling you.
Action: Ask your factory if any part of your new 2026 pricing is tied to tariff pressure.
3. Confirm your HTS codes are still correct
The wrong HTS code can swing your duty rate from 8 percent to 25 percent. Almost every brand we talk to has at least one misclassified SKU.
Action: Grab your top 10 highest volume SKUs and double check your classification.
4. See if you can access refunds
If you imported items and later exported, returned, or destroyed them, you might be sitting on unclaimed refunds.
Action: Identify any inventory write offs or international shipments that involved imported material.
What We Are Seeing Across the Market
What We Are Seeing Across the Market
Here are the real trends happening right now:
Founders assume exclusions auto renew. They do not. This extension is manual and specific.
Supplier quotes are creeping up because of upstream tariff volatility.
Misclassification is still one of the biggest hidden tax drains on ecom brands.
Inventory destruction is at an all time high, which means refund opportunities are also at an all time high.
Every brand feels these, but very few are acting on them.
The Bottom Line
The extension is good news, but it only helps the brands that take five minutes to check their codes, their paperwork, and their suppliers. Duty mistakes are expensive. Duty refunds are real money. This is one of the simplest places to unlock pure margin right now.
How Evana Can Help
If you want a team to handle this for you, Evana is built for that job. We are a global trade optimization platform for the brands of tomorrow. We review your import history, fix your classifications, and recover overpaid duties.
If you want us to review your last twelve months of shipments for missed savings, book a free review here:
