Upholstered wooden seats pay a 25% Section 232 duty, set to rise to 30% on January 1, 2027

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:11:14 -0400

Seats with wooden frames and upholstery have paid an additional 25 percent duty since October 14, 2025, under Proclamation 10976, issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the law that lets the President adjust imports on national-security grounds. The proclamation scheduled an increase to 30 percent for January 1, 2026. A proclamation of December 31, 2025 moved that increase to January 1, 2027, except for countries that reach an agreement with the United States on wood products. Products of the European Union and Japan pay no more than 15 percent including the general duty, and products of the United Kingdom no more than 10 percent. The rates here are those in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and the proclamations as of October 12, 2026, with rulings from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as examples.

For outdoor furniture, the duty reaches deep-seating lounge chairs, sofas and sectionals built on wooden frames with cushions or padding. Aluminum, steel and resin frames sit in other HTS lines and fall outside it.

Which lines carry the duty

The annex to the proclamation lists four statistical lines of the HTS. The two ending in .31 are the “other than household” lines a hotel, restaurant or campus buyer would normally see on an invoice.

Upholstered and other wooden seat and table lines in HTS chapter 94, and whether the Section 232 annex lists them. Checked October 12, 2026.
HTS line	What the line covers (abridged)	In the Section 232 annex
9401.61.20.31 and .35	Upholstered chairs of teak; other than household	No
9401.61.40.11	Upholstered chairs with wooden frames other than teak; other household	Yes
9401.61.40.31	Upholstered chairs with wooden frames other than teak; other than household	Yes
9401.61.60.11	Other upholstered seats with wooden frames such as sofas; other household	Yes
9401.61.60.31	Other upholstered seats with wooden frames such as sofas; other than household	Yes
9401.69	Seats with wooden frames; not upholstered	No
9403.60.80.40	Wooden dining tables	No

Source: whitehouse.gov

The HTS divides upholstered wooden chairs into those of teak, 9401.61.20, and all others, 9401.61.40. The annex lists only the 9401.61.40 lines, so an upholstered teak chair is outside its list. The teak split applies only to chairs, so an upholstered teak sofa or bench falls in 9401.61.60, which the annex does list.

Whether a chair counts as household or not does not change the rate, because the annex lists both. CBP decides the split from how the goods are principally used. In NY N286673, it placed a wood-frame armchair in the .31 line because the importer gave no evidence that it was used mainly in the household, and marketing for chairs of that type named hotel lobbies and commercial events among their uses. In NY N364625 of September 2026, it placed three dining chairs from Malaysia in the household line.

What counts as upholstered

CBP applies the Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System, the international commentary on the tariff headings. They define an upholstered seat as one with a soft layer, such as foam or wadding, shaped to the seat and covered with fabric, leather or plastic sheeting. Seats with detachable seat or back cushions count as upholstered when they “could not be used without such cushions,” as the notes quoted in NY N362889 put it. A seat covered directly in fabric or leather with no padding beneath does not count.

For outdoor seating, that test turns on the frame. A deep-seating frame that cannot be sat on without its cushion matches the note’s wording. A slatted wooden chair that works without its cushion points toward the non-upholstered lines in 9401.69, which the annex does not list. CBP decides each product on its facts, and a binding ruling settles a doubtful one before you order.

Wooden outdoor tables are outside the duty. Dining tables fall in 9403.60.80.40, which the annex does not list. Line 9403.60.80.93 appears in the annex only for kitchen cabinets and vanities, and other wooden furniture in that line is reported under heading 9903.76.04 at no added rate.

Rates by country of origin

Additional duties on upholstered wooden seats in the four annex lines, by country of origin, percent of customs value. The general duty on these lines is free. The proclamations state no 2027 rate for South Korea or Taiwan.
Origin	Chapter 99 heading	Section 232 rate October 2026 (%)	Section 232 rate from January 1 2027 (%)	2018 Section 301 China duty (%)	Total additional duty October 2026 (%)
China	9903.76.02 and 9903.88.03 or .04	25	30	25	50
Other countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia and Mexico	9903.76.02	25	30	0	25
European Union	9903.76.22	15	15	0	15
Japan	9903.76.21	15	15	0	15
South Korea	9903.76.23	15		0	15
Taiwan	9903.76.24	15		0	15
United Kingdom	9903.76.20	10	10	0	10

Source: hts.usitc.gov

The HTS as checked carries a separate heading for each capped origin. Heading 9903.76.20 adds 10 percent for the United Kingdom. Headings 9903.76.21 and 9903.76.22 set 15 percent for Japan and the European Union. Headings 9903.76.23 and 9903.76.24 set 15 percent for South Korea and Taiwan, which were not named in the September 2025 proclamation. The caps in clause 7 of the proclamation apply “notwithstanding” the clause that schedules the increase, so the UK, EU and Japan rates stay where they are in January 2027. The proclamations set no 2027 rate for Korea or Taiwan.

Products of every other country enter under 9903.76.02 at the general duty plus 25 percent. The annex says the duty is collected in addition to any free-trade-agreement rate, so a chair from Mexico or Canada pays it.

The forced-labor duties that took effect July 24, 2026, 12.5 percent on products of Vietnam, for example, do not apply to goods in headings 9903.76.01 to 9903.76.24, according to the Trade Representative’s notice. The 2018 duties on products of China do apply. In NY N336279 and NY N340810, CBP held that products of China in 9401.61.40.11 and 9401.61.60.11 owe an additional 25 percent under headings 9903.88.04 and 9903.88.03. The annex says any additional duty in its subchapter of chapter 99, which holds those headings, is imposed on top of the Section 232 rate. On October 7, 2026, the Trade Representative announced that the 2018 actions remain in effect during their second four-year review.

A worked example

Take an example order of 100 upholstered lounge chairs with wooden frames for a hotel pool deck, entered in 9401.61.40.31 at a customs value of $400 each, or $40,000. The example leaves out freight, brokerage and fees.

The same order would pay $4,000 to $22,000 in added duty depending on origin

Worked example: additional duty on 100 upholstered wooden-frame chairs at a customs value of $40,000, dollars

Duty October 2026 ($)
Duty from January 2027 ($)

Example with round numbers. China includes the 2018 Section 301 duty of 25%. The January 2027 column assumes no agreement is reached with China, Vietnam or Mexico. Source: whitehouse.gov

Worked example: additional duty on a $40,000 order of upholstered wooden-frame chairs, by country of origin, dollars. Illustrative round numbers.
Origin	Duty October 2026 ($)	Duty from January 2027 ($)
China	$20,000	$22,000
Vietnam or Mexico	$10,000	$12,000
European Union	$6,000	$6,000
Japan	$6,000	$6,000
United Kingdom	$4,000	$4,000

Source: hts.usitc.gov

From Vietnam or Mexico, the duty is 25 percent, or $10,000, and $12,000 after the increase. From China, the Section 232 duty and the 2018 duty add up to 50 percent, or $20,000, rising to $22,000. From an EU member state or Japan, the total is $6,000, and from the United Kingdom $4,000, before and after January 1.

What to ask before you sign

Ask the supplier for the full ten-digit HTS number of each seat, and whether the cushions are required for the seat to be used. A change from 9401.69 to 9401.61 can add 25 percent.
For an order that will enter around the turn of the year, ask whether the quote assumes 25 or 30 percent, and write into the purchase order which party bears the difference if the goods enter on or after January 1, 2027.
If a product’s classification is in doubt, ask the importer or a licensed customs broker to request a binding ruling from CBP before the order is placed.

The tariff guide covers the duties on metal, plastic and other outdoor furniture.

Caveats

The 2027 increase does not apply to a country that reaches an agreement with the United States on wood products, and the Secretary of Commerce may add wood products to the duty’s scope. The proclamation also asked Commerce to report by October 1, 2026 on hardwood imports and whether further duties on their derivatives are warranted. Whether that report has led to any action could not be verified.

Most of the CBP rulings cited here concern household seats, and NY N364625 of September 2026 gives only the general rate of free, with no Section 232 heading. The rulings show how CBP reasons about classification, and the rate on an entry comes from the HTS in force on the date of entry. The rates above come from the HTS and the proclamations as of October 12, 2026, and this is general information. A customs broker should confirm the classification and duties for a specific product.

Rules | Commercial Outdoor Furniture