9903.05.21 Explained: Angola Section 301 Forced Labor, 12.5% Duty

Key Points

• HTS 9903.05.21 imposes an additional 12.5 percent ad valorem duty on all products of Angola (country code AO) under the Section 301 Forced Labor program, effective July 24, 2026, with no announced end date.
• The legal authority is the USTR Section 301 Forced Labor Investigation (FLIP) final action dated July 23, 2026, implemented through U.S. note 52 and CBP CSMS message 69326983.
• Scope is broad: all Chapter 1 through 97 products of Angola are covered; there is no product-specific exclusion list described in the facts for this heading.
• 9903.05.21 is a Chapter 99 overlay code and rides alongside the regular Chapter 1-97 classification line on your entry; both must be reported in ACE.
• Do not confuse this heading with 9903.05.01 through 9903.05.09, which cover a separate Section 301 Brazil program and are entirely unrelated.

On this page

1. What 9903.05.21 is and who must care
2. Legal authority and program background
3. Affected products and country scope
4. Rate and effective window
5. How 9903.05.21 stacks with other duties
6. How to report this code on a CBP entry
7. What importers should do
8. Key references

As of August 30, 2026, HTS heading 9903.05.21 adds a 12.5 percent ad valorem duty to all goods of Angolan origin entered under any Chapter 1-97 classification. The additional duty took effect July 24, 2026, and has no published expiration date. Any importer, customs broker, or trade attorney dealing with goods sourced from Angola needs to account for this surcharge on every entry filed on or after that date.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the USTR final action notice, the CBP CSMS guidance, and the official Harmonized Tariff Schedule itself. Read the source.

What 9903.05.21 is and who must care

9903.05.21 is a Chapter 99 special-action heading in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Chapter 99 headings are overlay codes: they do not replace your regular product classification. Instead, they layer an additional duty on top of it. Heading 9903.05.21 specifically targets products of Angola subject to the Section 301 Forced Labor action.

You must care about this code if any of the following apply to your business:

• You import goods with an Angolan country of origin, regardless of the product type.
• You source through third countries but the goods originate in Angola under CBP origin rules.
• You are a customs broker filing entries for clients with Angolan supply chains.

Because scope covers all Chapter 1-97 products, there is no "safe" product category for Angolan goods. Confirm current coverage in the official HTSUS at hts.usitc.gov.

Legal authority and program background

The Section 301 Forced Labor Investigation (FLIP) is a trade action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the United States Trade Representative to investigate and respond to foreign government practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden U.S. commerce. The USTR FLIP final action for Angola was issued on July 23, 2026. The duty itself took effect the following day, July 24, 2026.

The implementing tariff mechanism is U.S. note 52 to Chapter 99 of the HTSUS. Country-specific headings under this program run from 9903.05.20 through 9903.05.84. Angola's specific heading within that range is 9903.05.21.

CBP operationalized the change through CSMS message 69326983, which provides ACE filing instructions. You can search CBP's CSMS archive at cbp.gov to retrieve that message directly.

Note carefully: headings 9903.05.01 through 9903.05.09 cover a separate Section 301 action targeting Brazil. Those codes and their rates have nothing to do with 9903.05.21. Mixing them up on an entry is a classification error that could trigger a penalty or a CF-28 request for information.

Affected products and country scope

Under U.S. note 52(a) and the product scope data migrated on July 28, 2026, the coverage rule for 9903.05.21 is straightforward:

• Countries: Angola (ISO country code AO) only.
• Products: All Chapter 1-97 products. There are no product-specific carve-outs listed for this heading in the facts available.
• Effective window: July 24, 2026 onward, with no announced end date.

Because the scope is all Chapter 1-97 goods, this reaches agricultural products, manufactured goods, raw materials, chemicals, textiles, and machinery alike, as long as origin is Angola. If you are uncertain whether your goods qualify as products of Angola under CBP substantial transformation or tariff-shift rules, confirm with a licensed broker or with CBP directly before filing.

Rate and effective window

The additional duty rate under 9903.05.21 is 12.5 percent ad valorem, applied on top of whatever Column 1 (MFN/NTR) or other applicable duty rate applies to the underlying Chapter 1-97 classification. This rate has been in effect since July 24, 2026, and the USTR has not announced a scheduled end date or rate step-down as of the facts available here.

Because this is an ad valorem duty, it is calculated on the entered value of the goods. A shipment with a $100,000 entered value from Angola will carry an additional $12,500 in duty under this heading, before any other duties are applied.

Some Section 301 FLIP headings in the 9903.05.20 through 9903.05.84 range are subject to MFN caps, meaning the additional duty cannot push the total above the MFN rate ceiling. The facts block for 9903.05.21 does not describe an MFN cap for this heading. Verify the current cap status in the HTSUS and U.S. note 52 before filing.

How 9903.05.21 stacks with other duties

The 12.5 percent additional duty under 9903.05.21 is additive. It stacks on top of:

• Column 1 (MFN/NTR) rates from the regular Chapter 1-97 classification.
• Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD), if applicable to the specific product. AD/CVD cash deposit rates and final duty rates can diverge; see our article on AD/CVD Cash Deposit vs Final Duty for how that retrospective system works.
• Other Section 301 actions, Section 232 tariffs, or Section 201 safeguards that may apply to the same product by classification. Each overlay code is reported separately.

Angola is not a country typically subject to broad Section 232 steel or aluminum actions that affect most nations, but if your specific product falls under a Section 232 heading, both the 232 duty and the 12.5 percent FLIP duty would apply simultaneously. Check each overlay heading that attaches to your Chapter 1-97 classification.

For an overview of how Chapter 99 overlay codes interact with each other, the CBP ACE HTS Reporting Order article explains the required sequencing of Chapter 98 and 99 codes on an entry line.

How to report this code on a CBP entry

Chapter 99 codes are reported as a second line on the same entry alongside the underlying Chapter 1-97 classification. The Chapter 1-97 line carries the merchandise description, quantity, and entered value. The 9903.05.21 line references that same entered value and collects the additional 12.5 percent. CBP's ACE system requires a specific reporting order when multiple Chapter 99 codes apply; follow the instructions in CSMS 69326983 and any subsequent ACE guidance from CBP.

The duty payment for 9903.05.21 is collected at time of entry summary, along with all other duties. There is no separate deposit mechanism or bond adjustment specific to this heading beyond standard entry procedures.

Use our duty calculator to estimate the combined duty bill for a shipment, or consult the 2026 tariff code overview for context on the broader set of new Chapter 99 headings active this year.

What importers should do

• Audit open and pending entries for Angolan-origin goods. Any entry with goods of Angolan origin filed on or after July 24, 2026, must include 9903.05.21. Entries filed before that date are not subject to the additional duty.
• Update your ACE filing templates and broker instructions. Add 9903.05.21 as a mandatory overlay for all AO-origin shipments. Confirm the ACE reporting sequence matches CBP CSMS 69326983 requirements.
• Review landed cost models. The 12.5 percent additional duty changes the economics of Angolan-source supply chains. Recalculate total duty exposure for each product using current entered values.
• Verify MFN cap applicability and any product exclusions by reading U.S. note 52 in the current HTSUS at hts.usitc.gov, as the facts block does not describe a cap for this heading and no exclusions are listed; confirm there are none before assuming full 12.5 percent applies in all cases.

Key references

• U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, hts.usitc.gov - Official HTSUS, including Chapter 99 heading 9903.05.21 and U.S. note 52.
• CBP CSMS Archive, cbp.gov - Search for CSMS 69326983 for ACE filing instructions on 9903.05.21.
• USTR.gov - Office of the United States Trade Representative; source of the FLIP final action dated July 23, 2026.
• Federal Register, federalregister.gov - Search for the USTR Section 301 Forced Labor final action notice for Angola.
• 19 U.S.C. 2411, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 - Statutory authority for USTR Section 301 actions.
• CBP Updates ACE HTS Reporting Order for Chapter 98 and 99 Classifications - How to sequence multiple Chapter 99 overlay codes on a single entry line.
• AD/CVD Cash Deposit vs Final Duty: Why Your Bill Can Change - How antidumping and countervailing duties interact with additional Section 301 tariffs.