What changed A presidential proclamation establishing a four-year Section 201/203 safeguard tariff-rate quota on quartz surface products (QSP) was published in the Federal Register by the Executive Office of the President on 08/05/2026.
President Trump issued the proclamation on July 31, 2026, after the ITC found that increased imports seriously injured the U.S. quartz surface product industry.
Trump adopted the quota volumes the ITC recommended but went harder on the duties: the proclamation adopts the recommended 25% in-quota rate but sets the over-quota rate 10 points higher than the ITC's 40%, and steps the in-quota rate down by two points a year.
Who's affected Importers, distributors, and fabricators of engineered quartz slabs and fabricated surface products. The TRQ covers QSP classified under HTSUS subheadings 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, and 7020.00.6000.
Imports that are the product of Australia, Canada, the CAFTA-DR countries, CBERA beneficiaries, Colombia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Peru, or Singapore are excluded from the safeguard. FTZ operators are directly hit: QSP admitted into U.S. foreign trade zones on or after 12:01 a.m. ET on August 15, 2026 must be admitted as "privileged foreign status," and will be subject upon entry to the quota restrictions or tariffs for the applicable HTSUS subheading.
Cost impact
In the first year, 13,006,426 square meters (140 million square feet) may enter at a duty of 25%; anything beyond that volume is dutied at 50%.
The quota is divided into four equal quarterly allocations of 3,251,606 square meters, about 35 million square feet.
Imports within the quota face a 25% tariff and imports above face 50%; existing antidumping, countervailing, and other duties remain in place. Your landed-cost delta depends on whether your entry lands inside or outside the quarterly quota and your country of origin.
What to do 1. Pull your SKUs and confirm whether they classify under HTS 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, or 7020.00.6000. 2. Verify country of origin — if sourced from an excluded country (e.g., Canada, Mexico, Korea, Israel), confirm you fall outside the measure. 3. Re-quote landed cost on affected SKUs at both the 25% in-quota and 50% over-quota scenarios. 4. If you hold QSP in an FTZ, arrange for privileged-foreign-status admission for anything entering the zone on or after Aug 15. 5. Time shipments against the quarterly allocation to avoid the 50% over-quota rate. 6. Separately, if you import steel/aluminum/copper derivatives, review the BIS Section 232 proposal to add 14 derivative categories and file comments before Aug 27 if in scope.
Effective dates - QSP safeguard TRQ takes effect (goods entered/withdrawn for consumption) → Aug 15, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET - FTZ privileged-foreign-status requirement begins → Aug 15, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET - BIS Section 232 derivative-additions comment deadline → Aug 27, 2026
Sources - Federal Register (Proclamation, published 08/05/2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/05/2026-15975/to-facilitate-positive-adjustment-to-competition-from-imports-of-quartz-surface-products - White House proclamation text: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/to-facilitate-positive-adjustment-to-competition-from-imports-of-quartz-surface-products/ - USITC remedy recommendations (05/05/2026): https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2026/er0505_68542.htm - Federal Register (USITC report, 05/21/2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/21/2026-10133/quartz-surface-products - Stone World (rate/volume detail): https://www.stoneworld.com/articles/95779-trump-imposes-four-year-tariff-rate-quota-on-imported-quartz-surface-products - BIS Section 232 derivative-articles comment request (FR, 08/06/2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/06/2026-15961/request-for-public-comments-on-the-proposed-implementation-of-duties-on-additional-aluminum-steel
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This alert is informational only and is not legal, customs, or trade-compliance advice. Verify current rates and rules against the linked primary sources or with a licensed customs broker before acting. Corrections: errors are corrected in-place with a dated note.