9903.08.26: UAS Section 232 Onshoring Plan Exception

Key Points

• 9903.08.26 is an exception heading in the UAS Section 232 program, not a duty heading: it carries 0 percent additional duty itself.
• It applies to articles imported subject to an onshoring plan approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and the heading text says the process will be established by Federal Register notice.
• The program takes effect for entries on or after September 3, 2026, under Proclamation 11055 and U.S. note 43.
• As of October 2026, the Commerce Federal Register notice setting up the onshoring-plan process is still pending.
• You claim 9903.08.26 beside the applicable UAS 232 duty heading, so confirm the pairing in the current HTSUS before filing.

On this page

1. What 9903.08.26 is and the short answer
2. Legal basis and effective date
3. How the heading works on an entry
4. The pending Commerce process
5. What importers should do
6. Key references

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the proclamations, Federal Register notices, and official tariff schedule pages themselves. Read the source.

9903.08.26 is a Chapter 99 exception heading under the UAS Section 232 program. Importers claim it when their articles are imported subject to an onshoring plan approved by the Secretary of Commerce. It carries 0 percent additional duty, and the exception applies to entries on or after September 3, 2026, according to the facts as of October 2026.

What 9903.08.26 is and the short answer

The official heading text reads: "Exception: articles imported subject to an onshoring plan approved by the Secretary of Commerce (process to be established by Federal Register notice): no additional duty."

Two points matter most:

• It is a claim heading. It does not impose a tariff. The 0 percent figure means the heading adds no Section 232 duty to the goods it covers.
• It depends on Commerce. The exception only works for articles tied to an onshoring plan the Secretary of Commerce has approved. The approval process is not yet defined by a published notice.

The 9903.08 series also includes other exception headings, such as 9903.08.20 and 9903.08.25. Read each heading's text in the current HTSUS so you claim the one that matches your facts.

Legal basis and effective date

Authority

The program rests on Proclamation 11055, published at 91 FR 53699 (FR document 2026-16979). The operative tariff language sits in U.S. note 43 to the relevant subchapter of Chapter 99. You can find the Federal Register document through federalregister.gov, and presidential actions are collected on the White House presidential actions page.

Effective window

The effective date is September 3, 2026, and it applies to entries on or after that date. The rate for this heading is 0 percent additional duty for that window. The facts available to us give no end date, so confirm in the current HTSUS whether any later change has been published.

Scope

The facts name the program as UAS 232, but they do not list which products or countries fall under the duty heading this exception sits beside. Read U.S. note 43 and the HTS line for your goods to confirm product scope. Do not assume coverage from the program name alone.

How the heading works on an entry

Chapter 99 headings ride alongside the regular Chapter 1 to 97 classification. They do not replace it. Your entry still needs the ordinary HTS line for the goods, with its normal duty rate, and the Chapter 99 headings that apply to the goods.

Claiming the exception

Because 9903.08.26 carries no duty, it is filed in place of paying the additional duty, not on top of it. It sits beside the UAS 232 duty heading that would otherwise apply to the article. The facts available here do not name that duty heading, so check the current HTSUS and note 43 for the exact pairing, or confirm with your broker.

Stacking with other duties

The facts block is silent on how this exception interacts with other tariff programs, such as Section 301 or other Section 232 actions. This heading's 0 percent applies to the UAS 232 additional duty only. Whether other duties still apply to the same goods has to be checked separately in the HTSUS and the relevant notes. For background on another program that can sit on the same entry, see our Section 301 China tariff list overview.

For comparison, Section 232 onshoring headings in other programs can differ sharply in rate. Our article on 9903.04.64 covers a pharma onshoring heading, which is a separate program with its own facts. Do not carry its terms over to the UAS program.

The pending Commerce process

The heading text says the onshoring-plan process will be established by Federal Register notice. As of October 2026, that Commerce notice is pending. In practice:

• There is no published procedure in our facts for how a plan is submitted, reviewed, or approved.
• There is no published detail on how an importer shows an entry is subject to an approved plan.
• Until Commerce publishes the notice, treat any plan-based claim as unsettled and verify its status before you rely on it.

Watch federalregister.gov for the Commerce notice and the CBP trade pages for any guidance or CSMS messages on how to report the heading.

If you claim it wrongly or too early

If an entry is filed without the right heading, or the claim turns out not to be supported, correction options may apply. Our guide to Post Summary Correction windows explains timing, and customs recovery options cover ways to seek overpaid duty back. Confirm the applicable procedure with your broker for any UAS 232 entry.

What importers should do

• Identify exposure now. Check whether your goods fall under U.S. note 43 and the UAS 232 duty heading for entries on or after September 3, 2026.
• Do not claim 9903.08.26 without an approved plan. The exception requires an onshoring plan approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and the process is pending.
• Confirm the heading pairing. Verify in the current HTSUS which duty heading 9903.08.26 sits beside, and brief your broker so entries are built correctly.
• Track the Commerce notice. Set an alert for the Federal Register notice and update your entry procedures when it publishes. Our 2026 tariff code overview is a starting point for related codes.

Key references

• Federal Register document 2026-16979: the Federal Register publication of Proclamation 11055 (91 FR 53699).
• White House presidential actions: the landing page for proclamations, including Proclamation 11055.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: the official source for Chapter 99 heading text and U.S. note 43.
• Federal Register: where the pending Commerce notice on the onshoring-plan process will appear.
• CBP trade resources: agency guidance and CSMS messages on filing Chapter 99 headings.