HTS heading 7308 · Chapter 73, Articles of iron or steel
US imports of Structures and parts of structures of iron or steel
Structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge sections, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
US imports under HTS 7308 at a glance
Between March and July 2026, US importers entered $2.42 billion of structures and parts of structures of iron or steel under HTS heading 7308, from 50 of the 55 origin countries covered here and across 15 ten-digit tariff lines — roughly $484 million a month of customs value under a single four-digit heading.
The heading belongs to chapter 73, articles of iron or steel. Classification disputes in this range usually turn on the six-digit subheading, which is where the rates start to diverge.
Top origin countries by share of HTS 7308
Origin countries: value, share and duty paid
| Origin | Import value | Share | Dutiable share | Effective duty | Duty per $100 | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | $701 million | 29% | 77.5% | 24.73% | $19.17 | |
| Canada | $336 million | 13.9% | 75.9% | 33.95% | $25.76 | |
| Germany | $264 million | 10.9% | 100% | 25.28% | $25.28 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| China | $216 million | 8.9% | 99.5% | 71.65% | $71.30 | Duty on 7308.90.95 China lane |
| Portugal | $115 million | 4.8% | 100% | 48.43% | $48.43 | Duty on 7308.20.00 |
| India | $103 million | 4.3% | 99.7% | 48.45% | $48.29 | Duty on 7308.90.95 India lane |
| Denmark | $77.8 million | 3.2% | 99.8% | 14.69% | $14.66 | Duty on 7308.20.00 |
| Turkey | $75.0 million | 3.1% | 100% | 41.78% | $41.78 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| South Korea | $71.5 million | 3% | 93.2% | 45.58% | $42.45 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| Vietnam | $68.2 million | 2.8% | 99.8% | 48.11% | $48.01 | Duty on 7308.90.95 Vietnam lane |
| United Arab Emirates | $50.1 million | 2.1% | 100% | 49.92% | $49.91 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| Italy | $46.8 million | 1.9% | 98.7% | 45.70% | $45.09 | Duty on 7308.90.95 Italy lane |
| Spain | $42.6 million | 1.8% | 99.2% | 46.03% | $45.65 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| Austria | $33.8 million | 1.4% | 99.6% | 47.94% | $47.74 | Duty on 7308.90.95 |
| Thailand | $28.7 million | 1.2% | 99.6% | 47.33% | $47.13 | Duty on 7308.90.95 Thailand lane |
Who exports structures and parts of structures of iron or steel to the United States
Mexico is the largest origin with $701 million, or 29% of the heading, with Canada at 13.9% and Germany at 10.9%. The top three take 53.8% between them — enough concentration to matter when one origin's duty treatment changes, but not so much that a buyer has no alternative to qualify.
Mexico and Canada sit near the top of the table, and the duty numbers reflect it: Mexico entered 22.5% of its value free of duty and Canada entered 24.1% of its value free of duty. Cargo that qualifies under USMCA and is claimed correctly at entry pays nothing; cargo that does not qualify, or that is never claimed, pays the ordinary rate. The certification is the whole difference.
What importers actually paid in duty
Almost everything under this heading is dutiable: 89.3% of entered value carried duty, and CBP collected $828 million over the five months. The effective rate on dutiable value was 38.3%, which works out to $34.22 of duty per $100 of goods. There is no meaningful duty-free channel here — classification and origin are the only levers.
The spread between origins is real. Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, China paid the most duty relative to value — $71.30 per $100 — while Denmark paid $14.66. On a $250,000 purchase order that gap is about $142,000 in duty alone, which is worth pricing into a sourcing decision rather than discovering on the entry summary.
10-digit tariff lines under HTS 7308
| HTS code | Description | Import value | Share | Duty per $100 | Largest origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7308.90.95.90 | Other | $1.22 billion | 50.4% | $35.30 | Mexico |
| 7308.90.30.00 | — | $214 million | 8.9% | $27.26 | Canada |
| 7308.20.00.35 | Tubular wind turbine towers, whether or not tapered, and sectional components thereof | $196 million | 8.1% | $47.19 | Portugal |
| 7308.90.60.00 | — | $190 million | 7.8% | $34.61 | Mexico |
| 7308.20.00.30 | Tubular, whether or not tapered, and sectional components thereof | $168 million | 7% | $0.45 | Germany |
| 7308.40.00.00 | Equipment for scaffolding, shuttering, propping or pit- propping | $137 million | 5.7% | $53.12 | China |
| 7308.30.50.50 | Other | $130 million | 5.4% | $29.66 | Canada |
| 7308.20.00.90 | Other | $47.0 million | 1.9% | $47.81 | Turkey |
| 7308.30.10.00 | — | $31.6 million | 1.3% | $39.72 | Mexico |
| 7308.90.70.00 | — | $22.6 million | 0.9% | $33.24 | Mexico |
| 7308.90.95.60 | Other | $20.4 million | 0.8% | $37.96 | Canada |
| 7308.90.95.30 | Sheet-metal roofing, siding, flooring and roof drainage equipment | $19.8 million | 0.8% | $43.46 | China |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
The 10-digit lines under heading 7308
15 ten-digit lines carried trade under this heading in the period. The largest, 7308.90.95.90 (other), took 50.4% of the heading at $1.22 billion. 7308.90.30.00, 7308.20.00.35 and 7308.90.60.00 follow. Rates diverge between those lines, so the classification your broker files is worth checking against the goods rather than carried over from the last entry.
What the duty stack looks like
The rate on an entry is not one number. It is a stack: the general (column 1) rate for the 10-digit line, less any trade-agreement preference the goods qualify for, plus whatever additional duties apply to that product and origin, all applied to the customs value declared. The $34.22 per $100 above is what that stack averaged across every entry in this heading — a benchmark, not a quote.
For the origins carrying the most volume, the per-country breakdowns go a level deeper: Germany (7308.90.95), China (7308.90.95) and Portugal (7308.20.00). To price a specific shipment, put your 10-digit code and country of origin into the tariff simulator.
What this means for your next shipment
The numbers above are a starting point, not the answer for a specific shipment: the rate depends on the exact 10-digit line, the origin, and any trade-agreement claim you can substantiate. Airlift USA arranges the ocean and air movement and coordinates classification and entry filing through our licensed broker network.
For the operational side rather than the tariff side, see the Steel Logistics guide for how this cargo moves, the China to USA lane for transit times and ports and the heading index to compare against the rest of chapter 73.
Price a shipment under HTS 7308
Airlift USA has moved ocean and air freight into the United States since 1999 and coordinates HTS classification, ISF and entry filing through our licensed broker network.
Methodology
Figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's international trade statistics for imports for consumption — the customs value of goods entered into US commerce, not shipments in transit or goods held in bonded warehouses. The period is March–July 2026 (5 months of data), and coverage is limited to 55 major origin countries, so totals here are lower than published US-wide totals for the same heading.
Three quantities are additive and everything else is derived from them: entered customs value, dutiable value and calculated duty. Effective duty is calculated duty divided by dutiable value — the rate CBP actually applied to the part of the trade that was dutiable. Dutiable share is dutiable value divided by entered value; below 20% it means the trade entered mostly free, under a trade agreement or a duty-free provision. Duty per $100 spreads calculated duty across all entered value, which is the figure comparable between origins.
Chapter 98 and chapter 99 are excluded: those are special classification and temporary-measure provisions rather than product headings. Heading and tariff-line descriptions are the current HTS text. Values are historical and reflect duty as calculated at the time of entry; they are not a quote and not a prediction of the rate on a future shipment.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value. Census data is a work of the US government and is in the public domain.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries export the most structures and parts of structures of iron or steel to the United States?
Mexico is the largest origin under HTS heading 7308, with $701 million entered between March and July 2026, or 29% of the heading. Canada follows at 13.9% and Germany at 10.9%. Figures cover the 55 major origin countries in this dataset. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
How much import duty is paid on structures and parts of structures of iron or steel under HTS 7308?
Across all origins, 89.3% of the entered value was dutiable and CBP calculated $828 million of duty over the five months — an effective 38.3% on dutiable value, or about $34.22 per $100 of goods across the whole heading. Your own rate depends on the exact 10-digit line and country of origin.
Which HTS codes fall under heading 7308?
Heading 7308 covers structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge sections, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel. 15 ten-digit lines recorded imports in this period; the largest by value were 7308.90.95.90, 7308.90.30.00, 7308.20.00.35 and 7308.90.60.00. Duty rates differ between those lines, so the 10-digit classification matters more than the heading.
Which origin pays the lowest duty on structures and parts of structures of iron or steel?
Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, Denmark paid the least duty relative to entered value — about $14.66 per $100 of goods, with 0.2% of its value entering free. Duty is only one part of landed cost, and a claim has to be substantiated at entry to be allowed.
How do I check the duty on my own shipment?
Use the Airlift USA tariff simulator with your 10-digit HTS code and country of origin to see the duty stack that applies today, then confirm the classification before you file. Airlift USA coordinates classification and entry filing through our licensed broker network and can review the code against your product specification.