US import duties on Vietnamese cement in 2026

What is the US import duty on Vietnamese cement in 2026?

There are two layers. The first is the ordinary tariff. In the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, cement clinkers enter under HTS 2523.10.00.00 and Portland cement other than white enters under HTS 2523.29.00.00, and both carry a Column 1 general rate of Free. The second layer is new. A Section 301 action on forced-labor import prohibitions adds 12.5 percent to products of Vietnam entered on or after 24 July 2026, under Chapter 99 heading 9903.05.84.

For both products, then, the tariff stack is Free plus 12.5 percent, or 12.5 percent ad valorem. In short:

• Cement clinker, HTS 2523.10.00.00: Column 1 general rate Free, plus 12.5 percent under 9903.05.84.
• Grey Portland cement, HTS 2523.29.00.00: Column 1 general rate Free, plus 12.5 percent under 9903.05.84.
• Antidumping and countervailing duties: none in effect on Vietnamese cement or clinker as of August 2026, on our information.

What is the Section 301 forced-labor action?

On 12 March 2026 the Office of the US Trade Representative opened 60 Section 301 investigations into whether each economy imposes and effectively enforces a prohibition on importing goods made with forced labor. Vietnam is one of the 54 economies USTR found had failed to impose and effectively enforce such a prohibition. USTR published its Notice of action on 28 July 2026 at 91 FR 47318 (FR Doc 2026-15181). For Vietnam it imposes 12.5 percent on products of Vietnam, apart from the exemptions in the notice.

This is not a cement measure and it is not aimed at Vietnamese cement. It is a country-level tariff that covers all products of the economy unless a product is exempted. The additional duty applies to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 24 July 2026. There was a narrow in-transit carve-out (heading 9903.05.85) for goods already loaded and on the final leg of transit before that time and entered before 12:01 a.m. on 28 July 2026. That window has closed, so a cargo entering today is covered.

Is the 12.5 percent reduced when the base duty rate is Free?

No. For Vietnam the 12.5 percent is added on top of the ordinary rate. The confusion is understandable, because the notice does contain a netting rule, but it applies only to named economies. For the European Union and Taiwan the combined duty is capped at 10 percent, and for Japan, South Korea and Switzerland it is capped at 12.5 percent. Where the ordinary rate is at or above the cap, the Section 301 duty for those economies is zero. Vietnam is not on that list. It falls under the flat rate in heading 9903.05.84, and the HTS text for that heading reads: the duty provided in the applicable subheading, plus 12.5 percent. U.S. note 52 adds that covered products remain subject to the general rates of duty in chapters 1 to 97.

For cement the arithmetic is simple, because Free plus 12.5 percent is 12.5 percent. If anyone tells you the Section 301 duty is netted against the base rate, ask which economy's heading they are reading.

Is cement exempt from the Section 301 duty?

Not on our reading. Among others, the notice exempts informational materials, donations, civil aircraft, pharmaceutical articles, steel, aluminum and copper articles, and a list of HTS provisions in U.S. note 52(b). We checked the cement subheadings of heading 2523 against the note 52(b) list in the HTS (Revision 21, 2026) and they do not appear in it. CBP's guidance for the action also lists no Vietnam-specific exemption heading. We therefore price Vietnamese cement as a covered product, which means pricing the duty in rather than around it.

Is there an antidumping or countervailing duty on Vietnamese cement?

As of August 2026, no US antidumping or countervailing duty order on Vietnamese cement or clinker is in effect. The historic US cement antidumping orders are against Japan and Mexico. Commerce continued the Japan order (case A-588-815) in February 2023, and that order covers cement and clinker classifiable under HTS 2523.29 and 2523.10. The active Vietnam trade cases we are aware of are in unrelated products such as rebar.

The notice states that products covered by the Section 301 headings continue to be subject to antidumping, countervailing or other duties. If an order were ever issued on cement, it would be in addition to the 12.5 percent, not instead of it.

How does Vietnam's rate compare with other cement sources?

Vietnam's 12.5 percent is the same rate the notice sets for Türkiye (heading 9903.05.79). Canada's rate is 10 percent (heading 9903.05.29), but heading 9903.05.93 exempts products of Canada entered free of duty under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, so the real comparison for a Canadian product depends on whether it qualifies. Compare sources on full landed cost, not a headline rate.

What should a landed-cost quote for imported cement include?

A quote you can budget against shows each cost as its own line and states what it assumed. At a minimum:

• Delivery terms. FOB, CFR or CIF, who is importer of record, and the point where risk transfers, agreed in writing before anything loads.
• Ocean freight, with the parcel size it assumes. Freight economics change with cargo size, and a part cargo pays for space it does not use.
• The duty layer as its own line, showing the HTS code, the Column 1 rate (Free) and the 12.5 percent Section 301 duty under 9903.05.84.
• Packaging. Bulk, lined bulk bags or bagged, with polyethylene liners quoted as a separate line rather than buried in the cement price.
• Inspection and payment structure, such as independent SGS inspection and a documentary Letter of Credit.
• Entry costs. Customs brokerage and entry fees are separate from the duty and should appear on their own lines, computed by your licensed customs broker.

The 12.5 percent is an ad valorem rate, so it is a percentage of the entered value declared on the entry. How that entered value is built from the purchase price and freight under your delivery terms is a customs question. Have your broker confirm it before you commit to a number.

What changes on the entry filing?

Mostly the broker's work. CBP's filing guidance says Chapter 99 numbers for trade remedies, starting with the Section 301 heading, are reported ahead of the Chapter 1 to 97 commodity line, and the entered value is reported on the commodity line. CBP also says Section 301 product admitted to a US foreign trade zone, other than product eligible for domestic status, may be admitted only in privileged foreign status. If you plan to use a zone, raise it at the quote stage.

Why re-verify duties close to the shipment date?

Because the duty that applies is the one in force when the goods are entered, not the one in force when you received a quote or signed a contract. The effective-date language in the notice is keyed to the date of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. The action is also young. Sixty investigations opened in March and the duty took effect in July. Its stated aim is to encourage each economy to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labor import prohibition, and it records that various economies have since moved toward one. Rates and exemptions can therefore change, and we cannot tell you whether or when they will.

So we re-verify the duty position near the shipment date rather than relying on the rate that applied when we quoted. We also suggest asking every supplier how a duty change between quote and entry would be handled, and getting the answer into the contract.