New Section 201 Safeguard Tariffs On Quartz Surface Products

Short summary: President Trump’s new Section 201 safeguard measure establishes a four-year tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on imports of quartz surface products beginning August 15, 2026. While annual quota volumes gradually increase over the life of the measure, importers may face safeguard duties of up to 50% once quarterly quota allocations are exhausted, making careful planning essential.  

On July 31, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation imposing a Section 201 safeguard measure on imports of quartz surface products (QSP). The measure takes the form of a four-year tariff-rate quota (TRQ) and applies to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, August 15, 2026.   

If you import QSP, including countertops, backsplashes, vanity tops, bar tops, work tops, tabletops, flooring, wall facing, shower surrounds, fireplace surrounds, mantels, and tiles, this measure will likely affect your imports.  

How the Tariff-Rate Quota Works

A TRQ is not a flat tariff. A set volume of covered merchandise may enter each quota year at a lower in-quota rate under the new HTSUS heading 9903.45.30. Once that volume is exhausted, additional entries pay a substantially higher over-quota rate under new heading 9903.45.31.

The annual volume is divided into four equal quarterly tranches. Any unused portion of a quarterly tranche carries forward into the following quarter, and CBP is required to add the unused quantity to the next quarter’s total no later than 14 days after the prior quarter closes. Carryover runs one quarter forward only.

The quota year runs from August 15 through August 14. The quarters are: August 15 to November 14; November 15 to February 13; February 14 to May 15; and May 16 to August 14, beginning August 15, 2026, and ending August 14, 2030.  

Quota Volumes and Duty Rates by Year 

The safeguard measure phases in over four quota years, with annual quota volumes increasing while the in-quota and over-quota duty rates gradually decline, as shown below.  

The New Safeguard Duties Are Added to Existing Tariffs 

The safeguard duties are cumulative and are imposed in addition to the duty rate otherwise applicable. This means that this Section 201 duty stacks with all other duties, including the Section 301 Forced Labor duty, the Section 301 China duty, and all other applicable duties. Further, this Section 201 duty stacks with AD & CVD duties.  

Importers with QSP subject to existing AD/CVD orders or other tariff programs should consider their total duty exposure rather than the safeguard rate alone. 

Which Products Are Covered? 

This Section 201 measure covers QSP entered under HTSUS subheadings 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, and 7020.00.6000. QSP is defined as slabs and other surfaces created from a mixture of materials that includes predominantly silica, such as quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite, or glass powder, together with a resin binder such as an unsaturated polyester. 

View the complete scope here. 

Key features of the scope definition: 

• Silica content test. The scope reaches only products in which silica content is greater than any other single material by actual weight. Incorporation of pigments, cement, or other additives does not remove merchandise from the scope. 
• All sizes, shapes, and thicknesses. Typical QSP is a rectangular slab of roughly 45 to 60 square feet at one, two, or three centimeters nominal thickness, but the scope covers all sizes, thicknesses, and shapes. 
• Fabricated and semi-finished goods. Beyond slabs, the scope expressly covers countertops, backsplashes, vanity tops, bar tops, work tops, tabletops, flooring, wall facing, shower surrounds, fireplace surrounds, mantels, and tiles. QSP is covered whether polished or unpolished, cut or uncut, fabricated or not, cured or uncured, edged or not, finished or unfinished, thermoformed or not, and packaged or unpackaged, with any surface finish. 
• Third-country processing does not remove merchandise from scope. QSP meets the description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise fabricated in a third country, including by cutting, polishing, curing, edging, thermoforming, attaching, or packaging, remains subject merchandise so long as the same operation performed in the country of manufacture would not have removed it from the scope. Routing slabs through an intermediate country for fabrication will not avoid the measure. 
• QSP imported with non-subject merchandise. QSP remains covered when imported attached to or together with non-subject items such as sinks, sink bowls, vanities, cabinets, and furniture. In those cases, only the QSP portion is covered, which raises apportionment questions at entry. 
• Exclusion. The scope does not cover quarried stone surface products such as granite, marble, soapstone, or quartzite. 

Exempt Countries 

Products of the following countries are not subject to the TRQ, and their imports do not count against the quota quantities: 

• Canada and Mexico. 
• Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Singapore, and South Korea. 
• CBERA beneficiaries: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. 
• Developing countries: Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 

Major quartz sourcing origins, including China, India, Malaysia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Vietnam, are all subject to this Section 201 measure.

The developing-country exemption is conditional. It applies only so long as a listed country’s individual share of total imports does not exceed 3 percent and all listed developing countries collectively account for no more than 9 percent of total imports. If either threshold is crossed, or if a country ceases to qualify as a developing country, USTR may remove that country from the list by notice in the Federal Register.

Country of origin, not country of shipment, governs. Given the third-country fabrication scope described above, a potential CBP enforcement trend for this Section 201 measure would be country-of-origin analysis of QSP.  

Special Rules for Foreign Trade Zones 

Merchandise subject to the measure that is admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 15, 2026, must be admitted under privileged foreign status as defined in 19 C.F.R. § 146.41. It will be subject to the applicable quantitative restrictions and duties upon entry for consumption. FTZ admission will not defer or avoid the safeguard. 

Further Modifications Are Possible 

USTR has broad authority to adjust the measure. If circumvention is found, USTR may take additional action under sections 203 and 204(b)(2) of the Trade Act. If a surge occurs from an exempt country, USTR is directed to extend the measure to that country. USTR is also authorized to negotiate agreements with trading partners limiting exports to the United States. Separately, any modification resulting from WTO consultations must be imposed within 40 days of July 31, 2026. 

What Importers Should Do Now 

The August 15 effective date leaves importers with a limited window to evaluate how this safeguard measure will affect existing supply chains, landed costs, and customs compliance obligations. 

We recommend that importers of QSP take the following steps promptly: 

• Confirm classification of your products under 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, or 7020.00.6000, and assess whether any product line falls outside the scope. 
• Verify and document the country of origin for each product line, and determine whether an exemption applies. 
• Identify any merchandise that has been fabricated or finished in a third country, and confirm the country-of-origin of the underlying slab. 
• Review entries in transit and evaluate whether the entry can be made before August 15, 2026. 
• Audit merchandise currently in an FTZ and address the privileged foreign status requirement before the effective date. 
• Model total duty exposure, including any applicable AD/CVD and other duties, given that the safeguard duties stack. 
• Confirm with your customs broker that reporting of headings 9903.45.30 and 9903.45.31 is configured correctly ahead of August 15. 

Diaz Trade Law can help assess whether your products fall within the scope, calculate total duty exposure, evaluate available exemptions, and develop compliance strategies for the new quota period. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.