Section 301 and HTS Misclassification: A Costly Combination

Section 301 tariffs and HTS misclassification are each a source of overpaid duty on their own. When they occur together, the overpayment compounds, and the recoverable amount can be significant.

How misclassification inflates duty

The HTS code assigned to a product determines its base duty rate. Similar products can sit under codes with materially different rates, so a wrong classification can mean paying more base duty than you owe on every single entry of that product.

How Section 301 makes it worse

Now layer in Section 301. If a misclassified product is also China-origin, it may carry the 25 percent add-on. A classification error that inflates the base rate, combined with a 301 tariff on top, means you are overpaying on two layers at once. The error quietly multiplies across a year of shipments.

Why a combined review pays off

Because these problems interact, reviewing them together recovers more than checking either alone. A specialist looks at whether the classification was correct, whether an exclusion applied, and whether IEEPA exposure exists, then files to recover across all of it.

Getting it reviewed

You do not need to audit your own classifications. Specialists do that as part of a recovery review, using your ACE data. If you suspect a product may be misclassified, or you simply want to be sure, a free eligibility check is the place to start.