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How much is the US import duty on Indian steel products
Executive Summary
The claimant "US import duty on Indian steel products" cannot be answered with a single fixed percentage because U.S. tariffs on steel combine several layers—Section 232 national-security tariffs, product-specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) rates, and ad hoc measures—leading to multiple possible duty rates depending on product and time. Contemporary reporting and government documents from 2023–2025 show competing figures (25%, 26%, 50%) in circulation, reflecting different rounds of policy, proposed reciprocal surcharges, and confusion over exemptions rather than a single definitive statutory rate [1] [2] [3].
1. Conflicting headlines — Why reports list 25%, 26% and 50%
News outlets and trade briefings published in 2025 report different headline rates because they reference distinct policy actions and interpretations: some cite the 25% baseline Section 232 steel tariff that the U.S. applied earlier, others report newly announced or proposed reciprocal surcharges adding roughly 10–26 percentage points, and a third set of sources references higher consolidated figures or sector-specific levies reaching 50% in certain measures or proposals [1] [4] [2] [3]. The variance stems from mixing the Section 232 statutory action, any additional broad retaliatory or reciprocal tariffs introduced in 2025, and sector- or product-specific exclusions or inclusions that alter the effective duty. Government rulemaking on exclusions and certification changes further complicates calculations because exclusions can temporarily lower or remove the Section 232 charge for particular HTS lines [5].
2. The legal mechanism that matters — Section 232 plus HTS codes
The core legal basis for broad U.S. steel duties remains Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which authorizes national-security tariffs and under which a 25% steel tariff has been the baseline in numerous accounts. However, Section 232 duties are implemented at the HTS-line level and subject to exclusions, certifications, and administrative revisions, meaning the actual duty on any Indian steel product requires identifying the HTS code and checking exclusion status [5] [6]. Reports that convert media headlines into single-rate claims often omit that HTS classifications and exclusion lists determine whether an entry faces the 25% tariff, a higher consolidated surcharge, or an exemption; federal notices and the Federal Register document the administrative mechanics without providing a universal numeric rate for every product [5].
3. Newer 2025 measures and reciprocal tariffs — where 26% or +10% figures came from
In 2025, several pieces of reporting and trade analysis described additional reciprocal or general duties layered on top of existing tariffs, generating figures such as 26% (reported as a 26% tariff in one report) or references to an extra 10% across many imports from trading partners with unfavorable treatment of U.S. goods [2] [4]. Some sources state India’s steel exports were later exempted from these new reciprocal duties even as other Indian goods faced extra levies, creating a mixed landscape in which Indian steel might be subject only to the Section 232 25% rate, to a 25%+reciprocal surcharge, or to temporary exemptions depending on specific policy language and implementation timing [4] [7].
4. Official administrative process and exclusions — why there’s no single number
Federal regulatory actions documented in the Federal Register and trade-law analyses show the administration uses exclusions, General Approved Exclusions (GAEs), and denied exclusion processes to modify which HTS lines face duties, and updates to the certification process have been proposed and implemented [5]. These procedural mechanisms mean the effective duty on an Indian steel item can change without a new headline tariff announcement: an HTS line can be carved out, temporarily permitted, or re-classified, altering the duty from the statutory 25% to a lower or zero effective rate for particular shipments. Consequently, any definitive single-rate answer ignores the administratively driven variability embedded in current U.S. trade practice [5] [6].
5. Bottom line for importers — what you must check now
Importers seeking a definitive duty rate must identify the precise HTS code for the steel product, check current Section 232 application and any additional 2025 reciprocal tariff orders, and verify whether an exclusion or exemption applies; summaries citing 25%, 26%, or 50% are shorthand for different policy elements and should not substitute for line-by-line tariff research [8] [5] [2]. Trade counsel or CBP rulings and up-to-date Federal Register notices provide the authoritative status for a given shipment; press reports offer useful context but often conflate baseline Section 232 duties, new reciprocal surcharges, and sector-specific measures that together produce the range of figures seen in the media [1] [4] [3].