The SteelNavy.Com Message Board: Re: I ask as it is 12.5% as of July 2026 and if I should use

Section 122 is exactly what I thought it was...

AI's explanation...

"Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the U.S. President temporary power to place import surcharges or quotas to fix serious balance-of-payments problems. According to Congress.gov, this law was created as a short-term tool to stabilize the U.S. dollar and handle international payment crises. [1]

Key Rules

Tariff Limit: The President can add an import duty of up to 15 percent.

Time Limit: The rules can only last for 150 days.

Congress Control: Congress must vote to extend the measures past 150 days.

No Long Studies: The President does not need a multi-agency investigation before acting. [1, 2]

Recent Use and Court Ruling

According to White & Case, President Trump used Section 122 on February 24, 2026, to set a temporary 10 percent global import tax. [1]

According to reports from BDO and Holland & Knight, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on May 7, 2026, that these tariffs were unlawful. The court stated that the administration did not prove a valid balance-of-payments crisis under the original meaning of the 1974 law, stopping the collection of these duties for the plaintiffs involved. [1, 2, 3]"

So, the exemption codes for books fall under "99" for the tariffs implemented under this temporary act (which was enacted right after the US Supreme Court shot down the IEEPA tariffs.) Even without the newest court order shooting this down too, it was only good for 150 days from February 24th. So, that all ended on July 24th. So, the 99 code should not be required. You should just be wanting to use the correct HTS ten digit Chapter 49 book exemption code.

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As far as your actual question...

Last I knew, the USPS has said they would not accept Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) items when de minimis ended. The only collection method they have is to knock on doors and collect, and without de minimis, they now have to do that for every single package. Last I knew, they will refuse anything sent DDU, and it will get returned. So, if you do order something requiring a tariff be paid, your only option is Delivery Duty Paid (DDP.) And that depends on the Australian postal system having a mechanism to collect and deliver the duty to the US CBP. Which was why chaos erupted when this whole thing first happened...most nation's postal services had no such mechanism/ability (and the USPS was refusing to accept items any other way.) Most nations have now set this all up. All the people here claiming no issues would be testament to Australia's postal system being one of those able to do DDP. For any order requiring a tariff be paid, and using the postal services of both nations, DDP is your only option.

But, you should not have to pay a tariff for books, so neither DDU nor DDP should apply. The correct HTS code is the key to that happening.

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I have never purchased anything from Australia. That said, books specifically, are tariff-exempt, and "always have been," even with all the changes. The seller needs to use the correct Harmonized Tariff Code (49) on the paperwork:

https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1145?language=en_US

https://beautifulbooks.info/2025/09/us-book-tariffs/

What AI says:

"books exempt from tariffs

Printed books are generally exempt from U.S. import tariffs because the government classifies them as protected "informational materials". [1]

What is Exempt

Printed Matter: Novels, textbooks, comics, graphic novels, Bibles, and children’s picture books qualify for this exemption. [1, 2, 3]

Harmonized Codes: Ordinary books fall under Chapter 49 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which usually has a base duty rate of zero. [1, 2]

Emergency Tariffs: Protections like the Berman Amendment shield books from extra emergency duties or broad reciprocal tariffs. You can read more about how these rules apply on BookWeb. [1, 2, 3]

What You Still Need to Know

No Free Pass on Paperwork: The old rule letting small packages under $800 enter the U.S. duty-free (de minimis) has been suspended. [1, 2]

Customs Declaration: Even though the tariff rate on the book itself is 0%, every package must go through formal customs clearance. [1, 2]

Special Codes: Senders must use correct 10-digit HTS codes (such as 4901.99.00.00 for printed books) and add a specific Chapter 99 exemption code on shipping forms. Without these codes, customs workers might mistakenly charge a flat tariff rate. [1, 2, 3]

What is Not Exempt: E-readers, blank notebooks, raw materials like ink and paper, and mixed merchandise packages do not get the free informational exemption. As noted by Substack Report, antique books or items with mixed classifications can also trigger extra fees or confusion. [1, 2, 3, 4]"

The "99" codes in the Beautiful Books article above apply to the Section 122 rules as explained. Also as explained, those should be gone by now. However, it would be useful to be aware of both codes "just in case." 49 codes are Harmonized tariff, 99 codes are Section 122 rules.

Communicate with your seller. Find out how experienced they are at shipping books. If they have experience, they should already know this and handle it for you. If not, you should work with them to help them send it duty free, contacting US Customs for help if necessary. You should not have to pay customs for a book.

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Delivery Paid Duty or Delivery Duty Unpaid option with AUSpost to USPS

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Looking at purchasing a rare-to-me book. If you have had a similar experience since the new postal regs please advise.