Section 301 action adds a 12.5 percent duty on Vietnamese cement
· 1 min read
The short answer
A Section 301 action addressing forced labor, published in the Federal Register on 28 July 2026 at 91 FR 47318, applies an additional 12.5 percent duty to products of Vietnam entered on or after 24 July 2026, under HTS heading 9903.05.84. Cement is not among the exempted categories, so Vietnamese cement and clinker now enter at Free plus 12.5 percent.
What changed
The US Trade Representative concluded Section 301 investigations into the acts, policies, and practices of 60 economies related to forced labor, and imposed additional duties of 10 or 12.5 percent depending on the economy. For Vietnam the rate is 12.5 percent, entered under Chapter 99 heading 9903.05.84, for goods entered on or after 24 July 2026. The notice was published at 91 FR 47318 (FR Doc 2026-15181).
How it applies to cement
Grey Portland cement (HTS 2523.29.00.00) and cement clinker (HTS 2523.10.00.00) carry a Column 1 general rate of Free. The Section 301 duty sits on top of that base rate, and cement is not in the exempted categories, so the effective duty on Vietnamese cement is 12.5 percent of the customs value. No US antidumping or countervailing duty order on Vietnamese cement or clinker is in effect.
What we do about it
We price the duty in, not around it. Every Soku quote is a landed-cost number with the current duty layer included, and classification is confirmed with a licensed customs broker before contract. Duty policy has moved several times in two years, so we re-verify near the shipment date rather than relying on the rate that applied on the day we quoted.