Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion for Specified Products: Full Guide 2026

What Is Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion Guidance?

In early 2025, American importers faced a whirlwind of new reciprocal tariffs that threatened to drive up costs on almost every foreign good. On April 5, a blanket 10% tariff hit imports from nearly all countries, with President Trump announcing even steeper country-specific rates days later. Businesses braced for chaos, but certain key industries were offered a lifeline as high-priority imports, like smartphone components, became eligible for reciprocal tariff exclusions.

Roughly 20% of US imports were initially excluded from the “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs announced in April. In fact, 1,039 product categories were carved out as exceptions, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, medical supplies, lumber, copper, and certain energy products. Some of these categories were exempt because they were already subject to different tariffs, like the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. These exclusions helped shield key industries from the most severe impacts of the new tariff measures.

Eligibility Criteria for Reciprocal Tariff Exclusions

Product categories considered for exclusion typically fall into one or more of the following:

• Items critical to public health or national security, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices

• Components essential to major domestic industries, including electronics and aerospace

• Inputs with limited or no viable domestic substitutes, such as specific chemicals, raw materials, or technical machinery

How to Apply for Reciprocal Tariff Exclusions

Classify products correctly to claim exclusions. If your imports fall under one of the exempted HTS categories (such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, or specific machinery), you must flag that on your customs entry. CBP’s guidance specifies that importers should report the secondary HTS code 9903.01.32 (or other applicable Chapter 99 code) for excluded products.

CBP also allowed products entered on or after April 5 to be corrected within 10 days of release, and for already-paid duties to be refunded via post-summary corrections or protests. It’s important to stay on top of these filings to avoid unnecessarily paying tariffs. 

Leverage US content in your products. What if your product category isn’t on the exclusion list? There’s another angle: the reciprocal tariffs deliberately don’t apply to the US-made portion of a product. According to the Executive Order, if at least 20% of a product’s value is from US-origin components, then the tariff is charged only on the remaining foreign content value. 

This means importers can reduce tariff costs by carefully documenting the American-made parts or materials in their imports. Customs may require proof (like certificates of origin, bills of materials, and manufacturing details) to verify that at least one-fifth of the product is indeed US content. 

This “content exclusion” essentially rewards companies for sourcing domestically. It also encourages foreign suppliers to incorporate more US-made components if they want to maintain price competitiveness. The key for importers is to maintain good records and be ready to declare the US content on entry documentation.

List of Specified Products Eligible for Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion

Products excluded from the reciprocal tariffs include:

• Goods already covered by Section 232 tariffs, such as steel and aluminum articles and automobiles/auto parts, are generally excluded because those duties operate under a separate legal authority.

• Agricultural products added in the November 2025 expansion, including hundreds of HTS codes for crops and foodstuffs, are excluded from reciprocal tariffs as long as the correct exemption HTS is claimed.

• Certain electronics and semiconductor-related goods such as smartphones, laptops, memory chips, and flat panel displays were exempted from the reciprocal tariff list beginning in April 2025, reducing duty exposure for many tech imports, though they may still face other duties (for example, under IEEPA or Section 301 when China is involved).

• Other products listed in Annex II of Executive Order 14257, including copper, lumber, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, key minerals, and energy-related products. On April 11, 2025, Trump also broadened Annex II to include more HTS headings and subheadings, declaring that smartphones, computers, and a wider range of electronic devices were also eligible for exclusion 

Impact of Reciprocal Tariff Exclusions on Import Costs

Even with exclusions, the broader reciprocal tariff framework continues to raise overall import costs:

• Exempting key categories like electronics, semiconductors, and agricultural goods has mitigated some of the worst duty impacts following broad tariff hikes in 2025, especially for tech supply chains and food prices.

• Analysts estimated that reciprocal tariffs overall still added tens of billions in extra costs to US businesses and consumers in 2025, though specific exemptions likely prevented higher price inflation in some sectors.

• Without exclusions for semiconductors or pharmaceuticals, sectors critical to manufacturing and healthcare would have faced steeper cost pressures; exemptions helped maintain some price stability.

However, even excluded products can carry other duties, and importers must still monitor classification updates and compliance requirements to fully leverage exclusions on their entries.

Updates and Changes in 2026

The tariff landscape in 2026 is constantly evolving. As legal and policy developments continue to shift the rules, it's important to stay vigilant. Importers should monitor trade developments weekly and stay in touch with legal counsel, compliance updates, and CBP guidance. The ability to act quickly, whether adjusting sourcing, coding entries correctly, or petitioning for product-specific relief, can translate into major cost savings and competitive advantage.