In a Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) bulletin published on September 28, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provided updated guidance on Section 232 duties on pharmaceutical articles and ingredients outline in Federal Register Notice (FRN) 2026-19498.
The FRN identifies the pharmaceutical products eligible for 0% tariff rate under HTSUS 9903.04.66 and includes technical corrections to the annexes of Presidential Proclamation 11020, which originally outlined these Section 232 duties.
The technical corrections include:
- Adding definitions for “pharmaceutical articles” and “generic pharmaceutical articles”.
- Updating text for certain Chapter 99 classifications.
- Adding a new tariff provision, 9903.94.70.
CBP’s updated guidance reflects these changes and reviews the list of applicable chapter 99 classifications, their duty rates, and descriptions of the products they apply to.
For imported pharmaceutical products under HTSUS headings 9903.04.60 through 9903.04.68 that are eligible for special tariff treatment, the applicable Section 232 duties will be collected in addition to any special rate of duty.
CBP also confirmed that drawback is available with respect to these Section 232 duties.
Pharmaceutical products imported into a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) must be admitted under “privileged foreign status” and will remain subject to the applicable Section 232 duties unless they are eligible for “domestic status” admission.
CSMS # 70054007 can be found here:
https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-42cf077?wgt_ref=USDHSCBP_WIDGET_2
FRN 2026-19498 can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/23/2026-19498/guidance-and-procedures-for-implementing-tariff-adjustments-for-specialty-pharmaceuticals-and
Presidential Proclamation 11020 can be found here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/adjusting-imports-of-pharmaceuticals-and-pharmaceutical-ingredients-into-the-united-states/
