The Trump-Xi summit in May 2026 was followed, within days, by a burst of concrete tariff activity from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in early June. Behind the political headlines, the practical question for anyone sourcing hardware or managing a China supply chain is narrower: what actually changed on paper, and what should you do about it? This piece walks through the early-June moves and what they mean in practice.
(If you want the broader method for calculating your true landed tariff cost — how the different tariff layers stack — see our companion guide, The Real Tariff Cost of Importing from China. This article focuses on the June policy developments specifically.)
Why this happened now: the legal backstory
The activity traces back to a legal bottleneck. In February 2026, the US Supreme Court struck down the sweeping global tariffs the administration had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That ruling left a gap — and with the temporary 10% global Section 122 surcharge set to expire in July 2026, the administration moved to build a replacement structure on firmer legal footing, using Section 301 (which rests on formal trade investigations) rather than emergency powers.
In plain terms: the old, broad tariff mechanism was ruled invalid, so a more narrowly grounded one is being assembled to take its place before the current surcharge lapses.
The proposed Section 301 replacement package
On June 2, 2026, USTR proposed a new Section 301 tariff package reportedly targeting around 60 trading partners, framed around investigations into forced-labor enforcement and state-subsidized industrial overcapacity rather than a general economic emergency.
Two things importers should note:
- Proposed tiered rates. The proposal is reported to set a baseline 10% tariff on a core group of partners and a higher 12.5% on a larger group of others — with Hong Kong reportedly included in the higher tier. These are proposed rates, not yet finalized.
- The comment and hearing window. The public comment period was scheduled to close July 6, 2026, with hearings beginning July 7. The proposal’s annex reportedly contains targeted exemptions for certain agricultural products, critical minerals, and critical industrial components — which is why classifying your specific products against the annex matters, rather than assuming a blanket rate applies.
The practical takeaway here isn’t to panic over a headline rate. It’s to check whether your specific products fall under a proposed exemption, and to treat the numbers as a moving proposal until finalized.
The Section 232 metals change: the “melted and poured” test
Alongside the Section 301 proposal, a proclamation issued June 1, 2026 adjusted Section 232 duties on aluminum, copper, and steel derivatives. The headline punitive rate reaches 50%, but reduced preferential treatment reportedly applies to items that verify a high share of domestic origin — on the order of 85% steel melted and poured in the US, or 85% aluminum/copper smelted and cast domestically.
For sourcing teams, the actionable point is the documentation: qualifying for the lower rate depends on being able to verify where the metal was melted and poured, across sub-tier suppliers. That’s a traceability requirement, not just a rate — and it’s the kind of thing that’s far easier to establish before a shipment than to reconstruct after a customs question.
A new bilateral trade mechanism, still forming
USTR also, on June 2, solicited public comment on forming a new US-China trade mechanism (previewed during the May summit) intended to identify non-sensitive categories of goods eligible for reciprocal tariff modifications and managed quotas. As of this writing, this is at the consultation stage — worth tracking, but not yet something to plan firm sourcing decisions around.
What importers should actually do
- Classify before you react. Check your specific products against the proposed annexes and exemption lists rather than assuming a blanket rate. A proposed exemption for your category changes the picture entirely.
- Build metal-origin traceability now. If you source steel, aluminum, or copper derivatives, start documenting the “melted and poured” origin across your suppliers — that’s what qualifies you for the lower Section 232 rate.
- Treat these as proposals, not settled law. Comment windows were still open into July; rates and scope can shift. Watch for the finalized versions rather than locking in decisions on the proposed numbers.
- Separate “news” from “method.” For how these layers combine into your actual landed cost, use the tariff stack guide; this article is just the June snapshot.
This article describes proposed and recently issued US trade measures as of June 2026; several were at the proposal or comment stage and subject to change. Details such as covered partners, rates, and exemptions should be verified against the finalized USTR and CBP notices and your specific HTS classifications. General information, not legal or customs advice.