News

CBP Opens Six TRQs on Oct 1, 2026: Beef, Autos, Food, HELP Apparel

Published: September 26, 2026 · 5 min read

Key Points

Six CBP quota bulletins open simultaneously on October 1, 2026, covering beef (Argentina Tranche 4), UK automobiles (Q4 TRQ), cocoa powder, condiments and mixed seasonings, mixes and doughs, and Haiti HELP apparel.
For the five food and apparel TRQs that run October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, entries submitted after 12:01 a.m. local port time but before 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on opening day receive an equal share of the quota if it is oversubscribed.
The UK automobile TRQ is a Q4 2026 tranche governed by Executive Order 14309 and covers Chapter 87 HTS subheadings.
Argentina Beef Tranche 4 is governed by the Presidential Proclamation "Ensuring Affordable Beef for the American Consumer" (February 6, 2026) under Chapter 2 AUSN 3(b).
Separately, starting September 30, 2026, CBP requires all Organization Broker License applications to be submitted through the eCBP portal; paper and email submissions will be returned.

What changed: six quota bulletins published at once
Food and ingredient TRQs: cocoa powder, condiments, mixes and doughs
Haiti HELP apparel quota
Argentina beef Tranche 4
UK automobile Q4 TRQ
Opening-day simultaneous filing rules
Organization Broker License: eCBP portal deadline
What importers and brokers should do now
Key references

On September 25, 2026, CBP issued seven CSMS messages covering six quota bulletins and one critical operational filing change. Five of the six quotas open on October 1, 2026, and run through September 30, 2027; the sixth is a quarterly TRQ for UK automobiles covering Q4 2026. The links in this article go to the primary documents: the CBP CSMS bulletins and official quota guidance themselves. Read the source.

What changed: six quota bulletins published at once

CBP released all six bulletins on the same day, giving importers and brokers roughly one week to prepare entries before the opening date. Because several of these quotas are historically oversubscribed in the first hours, the simultaneous-filing window on October 1 is operationally significant for every affected commodity.

Food and ingredient TRQs: cocoa powder, condiments, mixes and doughs

Quota Bulletin 26-215 covers cocoa powder under HTSUS Chapter 18, Additional U.S. Note 1. Quota Bulletin 26-221 covers condiments and mixed seasonings under Chapter 21, AUSN 4. Quota Bulletin 26-222 covers mixes and doughs under Chapter 19, AUSN 1 and 3. All three quota periods run October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Haiti HELP apparel quota

Quota Bulletin 26-134 governs apparel goods eligible under the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act (HELP), classified under HTSUS Chapter 98, Subchapter XX, and Chapter 61 and 62 subheadings. The quota period is October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Importers sourcing HELP-eligible apparel from Haiti must ensure entries are filed under the correct Chapter 98 subheadings and that preference claims are supported by the required documentation before the opening window.

Argentina beef Tranche 4

Quota Bulletin 26-226 activates Tranche 4 of the Argentina beef TRQ under Chapter 2, AUSN 3(b). This tranche is tied to the Presidential Proclamation "Ensuring Affordable Beef for the American Consumer," published February 6, 2026. The bulletin notes that the Tranche 4 quantity is in addition to the aggregate quantity of beef already established under prior tranches. Beef importers from Argentina should confirm their remaining tranche capacity and entry classification before submitting on opening day.

UK automobile Q4 TRQ

Quota Bulletin 26-510 opens the Q4 2026 tariff-rate quota for automobiles imported from the United Kingdom. The applicable HTS subheadings fall under Chapter 87 and are specified in Executive Order 14309, "Implementing the General Terms of the United States of America-United Kingdom Economic Agreement." Automotive importers sourcing vehicles from the UK should verify their Q3 utilization against remaining Q4 TRQ capacity before filing.

Opening-day simultaneous filing rules

For all five food and apparel TRQs with an October 1 opening, CBP applies a simultaneous-filing window: entries submitted after 12:01 a.m. local port time and before 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2026, are treated as filed simultaneously. If the aggregate quantity of those entries exceeds the quota, CBP prorates the available supply across all entries in the window. Entries submitted at or after 8:30 a.m. ET are processed in the order received. Brokers and importers should have ACE entries queued and validated well before midnight to avoid technical delays that could push a submission past the cutoff.

Organization Broker License: eCBP portal deadline

Effective September 30, 2026, CBP is eliminating paper, mail, and email submission of Organization Broker License Applications. Per CSMS 70013692, all applications and associated fees must be submitted through the eCBP portal. Any application delivered by hand, mailed, or emailed on or after that date will be returned to the applicant without processing. Brokerage firms with pending or upcoming license applications must register and complete the process through eCBP before that date.

What importers and brokers should do now

Review each applicable quota bulletin on CBP.gov and confirm your commodity's HTS classification against the AUSN or subheading cited before October 1.
Queue ACE entries for October 1 food and apparel TRQs ahead of 12:01 a.m. local port time to capture the simultaneous-filing window; validate entry data in advance to prevent rejection errors.
For Argentina beef and UK automobile TRQs, reconcile prior-tranche and prior-quarter utilization to determine remaining in-quota eligibility before filing.
If your firm has a pending Organization Broker License Application, submit it through the eCBP portal before September 30, 2026, or it will be returned unprocessed.

Key references

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About the Author

Franz Brotzen, CustomsGenius CEO & Founder. Franz is a published researcher on U.S. trade policy. He has worked at think tanks in Washington DC and Tokyo, where his academic publications focussed on tariffs and legal compliance. Franz received his JD from Harvard Law School.