Highest Tariff Product Categories

Metals sit at the top of the US tariff ranking by a wide margin. In the trade-weighted data this site uses (vintage June 9, 2026), aluminum products average 43.2%, steel and iron products 40.2%, and copper products 22.4%, all driven by Section 232 national-security tariffs. Furniture is the highest consumer-facing category at 16.2%, while pharmaceuticals, coffee, and fertilizers sit near zero.

Use the table below to see where your products fall, then price a specific shipment with the category tariff calculator. If you already know your HTS code, the HTS-8 tariff lookup gives a line-level rate instead of a chapter average.

All 22 import categories ranked by tariff rate

Rates are trade-weighted blends of the HTS chapters listed for each category. "Imports" is the annual import value the weights are built on. Each category name links to the calculator with that category preselected.

Two things to keep in mind when you read this ranking. First, the rates come from the "Imposed Tariff Rate by Product Set" file distributed with the Penn Wharton Budget Model tariff simulator, and they capture the additional tariffs layered on since 2025. Our spot checks against the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule show they leave out the base "General" (most-favored-nation) duty. Cotton T-shirts (6109.10.00) carry a 16.5% General rate in the HTS, while the dataset shows 6.4%. Second, the data predate the July 24, 2026 switch from the Section 122 surcharge to new Section 301 duties, covered further down.

What drives the top three: Section 232 metals tariffs

Aluminum (43.2%) and steel (40.2%)

Proclamation 11021, signed April 2, 2026, rebuilt the steel, aluminum, and copper tariffs. For goods entered on or after April 6, 2026:

• Steel and aluminum articles and listed derivatives pay 50% on the full customs value, regardless of how much metal they contain.
• Qualifying UK products pay 25% on those same articles.
• Derivatives made entirely from US-melted steel or US-smelted aluminum pay 10%.
• A second list of derivatives pays 25%, and certain metal-intensive equipment pays a combined 15% through December 31, 2027.
• Aluminum with any Russian content stays at 200%.

That structure explains the dataset. Of the 508 HTS-8 lines in chapters 72 and 73, 427 show a rate of 25% or more, and the median line is 47.6%. Hot-rolled flat steel (7208.10.15) shows exactly 50%. Chapter 72 (iron and steel in primary forms) averages 35.6%, below chapter 73 (articles of steel) at 43.1%, because a handful of primary inputs show 0%.

Copper (22.4%)

Copper looks like a paradox: 76 of 89 copper lines show 50%, yet the chapter averages 22.4%. The gap comes from what is excluded. Refined copper cathodes (7403.11.00) and other unwrought copper show 0%, while copper wire (7408) and other semi-finished products show 50%. Cathode is a big share of chapter 74 import value, so it drags the trade-weighted average down. If you buy copper wire, tube, or fittings, your marginal rate is much closer to 50% than to 22.4%.

Why furniture, machinery, tools, and rubber come next

Furniture (16.2%). Proclamation 10976 put 25% on certain upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities from October 14, 2025. A January 2026 amendment pushed the scheduled step-ups to January 1, 2027: 30% for upholstered furniture and 50% for cabinets and vanities. Partners with deals get lower caps, and UK wood products are capped at 10%. Most other furniture lines show 4–10%, so chapter 94 lands in the middle. The furniture average may run high. Upholstered wooden chairs show about 29% and the cabinet and vanity lines (9403.40.90 and 9403.60.80) about 45–46% in the data, which matches the postponed 2027 rates more closely than the 25% actually in force, applied to entire lines that also hold tables and other furniture.

Machinery (13.0%). Chapter 84 has the largest import base in the table ($514.2 billion). Many household appliances are listed as steel derivatives. In the dataset, refrigerator-freezers (8418.10.00), window air conditioners (8415.10), and certain washing machines (8450.11) all show 25%. Industrial lines that qualify for the 15% equipment rate, or that only carry the general add-on, pull the average down.

Tools and cutlery (12.2%). Most hand tools show roughly 5–10%, but knife sets and table knives (8211) show 25% as steel derivatives. If you import cutlery, your rate is double the category average.

Rubber (11.5%). New pneumatic radial tires (4011.10.10 and 4011.20.10) show 14.5–17.1% because some tires fall under the Section 232 auto-parts tariff. Hoses, belts, and other rubber articles mostly show 10% or less.

The 10% band: autos, apparel, toys, leather, and footwear

These categories cluster near 10% for different reasons.

• Autos (10.0%). Proclamation 10908 imposed 25% on passenger vehicles and light trucks from April 3, 2025. The 10% average is much lower because USMCA-qualifying vehicles from Mexico and Canada, plus negotiated rates for the UK, EU, Japan, and Korea, weigh it down. A pickup under HTS 8704.21.01 shows just 0.74% in the dataset, which suggests that USMCA-qualifying trucks dominate that line. A pickup from outside North America still owes the 25% General rate on any non-USMCA entry.
• Apparel, toys, leather, and footwear (8.8–10.0%). These are almost entirely the 10% Section 122 surcharge that was in force when the data were pulled. Duty-free CAFTA-DR and USMCA trade pulls some lines below 10%. These are also the categories where leaving out the General rate matters most: rubber and plastic footwear under 6402.99 carries General rates as high as 48%, and synthetic sweaters under 6110.30 as high as 32%. One data note: the site's apparel default of 10.0% is higher than the 8.8% you get by blending chapters 61 and 62 from the same file.

Low-rate categories: why duty rarely matters for pharma, coffee, and fertilizer

Pharmaceuticals (0.14%), coffee (0.02%), and fertilizers (0%) show almost no additional tariff in the data, which points to broad exemptions from the 2026 surcharge, and most of their General rates are already free. Jewelry averages only 4.1% because gold bullion and doré (7108) show 0% while finished jewelry shows about 10%.

Pharma is the category most likely to look stale. Proclamation 11020 sets a 100% tariff on listed patented drugs and their ingredients. It took effect July 31, 2026 for companies named in its Annex III and September 29, 2026 for everyone else. Lower rates apply in several cases:

• 20% for companies with approved onshoring plans
• 15% for products of Japan, the EU, Korea, and Switzerland/Liechtenstein
• 10% for the UK
• 0% for orphan drugs and several specialty classes

Generic drugs and biosimilars were deliberately left out. If you import branded medicines, do not rely on the 0.14% category figure.

How the rankings have shifted since the data were pulled

The dataset reflects the rules in force on June 9, 2026. Three legal changes since then can move your numbers.

1. The Section 122 surcharge ended. Proclamation 11012 imposed a 10% surcharge from February 24, 2026 for 150 days. It expired July 24, 2026.
2. New Section 301 duties replaced it. The same day, USTR's Section 301 forced-labor action took effect on imports from 60 economies. Most rates are 10% or 12.5%, and the notice states they apply on top of the General rate. Seventeen economies, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the UK, are at 10%. China, Vietnam, Brazil, and most others are at 12.5%. The EU, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland get a rate "net of" MFN. For categories in the 10% band, origins in the 12.5% group are now about 2.5 points higher than the table shows.
3. Section 232 goods are carved out of the new duty. Steel, aluminum, copper, covered autos and parts, covered wood products, and patented pharmaceuticals are excluded, so the top of the ranking does not stack the new 301 duty. USMCA duty-free goods from Canada and Mexico are also exempt.

The older IEEPA "reciprocal" and fentanyl tariffs are gone. The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs (docket 24-1287), and CBP stopped collecting them on February 24, 2026. Because IEEPA was never part of this June 2026 dataset, the ruling does not change the table. It does mean that some 2025 entries in these categories may be eligible for refunds. How US import tariffs work walks through the full timeline.

Worked example: same $10,000, very different duty bills

Here is what the category averages imply for a $10,000 customs value. Remember that each figure leaves out the General rate.

Now take a $10,000 shipment of copper wire instead of mixed copper. The line rate is 50%, so the added duty is $10,000 × 0.50 = $5,000. That is $2,760 more than the category average suggests. This is the main reason to switch from category averages to line-level HTS rates once you know exactly what you are buying.

How to use this ranking in practice

• Sourcing teams: the highest-rate categories are where country of origin and US-content rules pay off. A derivative made entirely from US-melted steel pays 10% instead of 50%.
• Contractors: steel, aluminum, copper, and wood show up in almost every bid. The contractor materials tariff calculator frames these rates around a job budget.
• Retailers and households: furniture, apparel, toys, and footwear are where shoppers notice price changes. Read will tariffs raise consumer prices for what the research says about timing and size.
• Importers pricing a SKU: add the HTS General rate, then build freight and fees in the importer landed cost guide.

Treat every rate on this page as a starting point for planning, not as the duty CBP will assess on your entry summary. The final rate depends on the 10-digit classification, the country of origin, trade-agreement claims, and any antidumping or countervailing duties, none of which a chapter average can capture.