EY reports a 12.5% Section 301 tariff on goods from China and Hong Kong since 24 July 2026. For electronic components, none of the 203 Walsin export files we hold has an origin, HS code or weight column, so get all three in writing before you order.
Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, wrote this for US purchasing teams who buy passive components from Asia and have read three different tariff headlines this quarter. The news facts come from sources we fetched on 20 October 2026, listed at the end. The counts come from the Walsin Technology (Walsin) export files and our stock snapshot as at 23 September 2026. Every part number is real. We give no prices, no duty advice and no transit times.
What changed on 24 July 2026 for US buyers of electronic components?
A new layer of duty, replacing a temporary one, according to EY and Dimerco. USTR announced its final Section 301 forced-labor action on 23 July 2026, and EY reports that additional duties of 10% or 12.5% took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on 24 July 2026 across 60 economies, with China and Hong Kong both at 12.5%. The temporary Section 122 tariff expired the same day, per the Dimerco tracker.
The same EY alert lists Malaysia, Taiwan and the European Union at 10% and Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan at 12.5%, with floor-style rules for the EU, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. It says goods already subject to Section 232 tariffs are excluded, so the new duty generally does not stack with them. Dimerco adds that the new duty does stack on the existing China Section 301 tariffs.
| Item | What the source we read says | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Section 301 forced-labor tariff | 12.5% on China and Hong Kong, effective 24 July 2026 | EY alert, 24 July 2026 |
| Section 232 semiconductors | 25% on certain logic integrated circuits and articles containing them, from 15 January 2026 | Dimerco, page modified 1 October 2026 |
| Proposed US-China changes | A proposed list of Chinese goods for “more favorable” treatment, no rates, not final | Dimerco, entry dated 28 September 2026 |
| Busan Agreement | Reported extended to 10 January 2027, no official White House notice yet | Dimerco, same page |
What happened to Asia freight rates in October 2026?
They stopped falling on the Europe lane and held on the Pacific, according to Drewry and Container News. Drewry’s World Container Index for 15 October 2026 rose 3% week on week, and its Asia-Europe rates rose after 13 consecutive weekly declines: Shanghai-Rotterdam up 6% and Shanghai-Genoa up 7%. Shanghai-Los Angeles rose 3% and Shanghai-New York fell 1%.
Drewry gave these drivers: vessels returning to the Suez Canal adding capacity, carriers seeking higher freight-all-kinds rates from 19 October with Drewry calling implementation uncertain, and strong US import demand on the transpacific. Gifts & Decorative Accessories, in a write-up dated 12 October, attributed the prior week’s softness to Golden Week factory closures. We quote no freight price levels, only the direction Drewry reported.
| Lane (Drewry, 15 October 2026) | Weekly move | Match / mismatch with the headline “freight is falling” |
|---|---|---|
| Composite index | +3% | Mismatch — up |
| Shanghai-Rotterdam | +6% | Mismatch — ended 13 weeks of falls |
| Shanghai-Genoa | +7% | Mismatch — up |
| Shanghai-Los Angeles | +3% | Mismatch — up |
| Shanghai-New York | -1% | Match — down |
Ocean indexes price containers. We hold no carton, weight or shipping-mode data in any .xlsx file or Walsin datasheet for any Walsin part, so we cannot tell you how your order will travel. Ask your forwarder.
Can a Walsin export file tell you the country of origin or the tariff code?
No. We read the header row of all 203 Walsin export .xlsx files in the data we hold and searched every column name for origin, country, HS, tariff, duty and weight: 0 of 203 files has any of them. The same search found no RoHS, REACH or lead-time column either. The 203 files together carry 96 distinct column names, and none is an origin.
That is a gap in what we can show you, not a statement about any part. No Walsin datasheet we hold names a manufacturing site or a country of origin, so we state none. A tariff rate follows facts that are not in the data: where the goods come from, how they are classified and how the importer declares them.
| Part | What our files give | Origin, HS code or weight in our files | Match / mismatch to what a customs entry needs |
|---|---|---|---|
MT15N0R5C500 |
MLCC, 0402, NP0, 0.5 pF, 50 Vdc (from 00_ALL_MLCC_parts_combined.xlsx) |
None | Mismatch — electrical data only |
MR04W1R00FTR |
Chip resistor, 0402, 1 ohm, plus or minus 1 percent | None | Mismatch |
0603B102K500 |
MLCC stock line, snapshot 23 September 2026 | None | Mismatch |
S252B471K502ZT |
Safety capacitor stock line | None | Mismatch — electrical and stock data only |
WR06W2R70FTL |
Chip resistor stock line, 0603, 2.70 ohm, plus or minus 1% | None | Mismatch |
We have not seen this counted anywhere: a buyer can filter 234,815 chip resistor rows and the 24,026 rows of 00_ALL_MLCC_parts_combined.xlsx on dozens of electrical fields, and none of the 203 files lets them filter on the one fact the US Section 301 rate depends on. Ask for origin per line item, in writing, from the party who can state it. We will pass the request to Walsin on your behalf. It is on our request list, not answered.
What can you read off our Hong Kong stock snapshot when freight is uncertain?
The date code, for about a quarter of the shelf. Of 1,125 lines in the snapshot as at 23 September 2026, 442 have a blank date code, 417 hold the same timestamp “2025-12-01 00:00:00” and only 266 hold a text code such as 26+7月. We counted every cell. All 254 chip resistor lines are among the blanks.
The 266 text codes use 35 different shapes once digits are masked, and 182 contain the Chinese character 月. They are readable by a person and awkward for a spreadsheet filter. The 417 timestamps may be real dates or a spreadsheet artefact; we cannot tell from the cell, so we do not read them as codes.
| Stock line (23 September 2026) | Date code cell | Match / mismatch to a readable year-plus-month code |
|---|---|---|
0603B102K500 |
26+7月 | Match |
0402B102K500 |
26+ | Match on year only |
1210F105Z500 |
23+12月, 24+1月, 24+12月 | Mismatch — three lots in one cell |
0201B101K160 |
2025-12-01 00:00:00 | Mismatch — a timestamp, not a code |
WR06W2R70FTL |
blank | Mismatch — no date code recorded |
Stock is a snapshot as at 23 September 2026 and moves. See ready stock for the line, then ask us for the date code on the lot you would receive. Our post on MLCC shelf life and storage explains why the code matters when a shipment is delayed, and building a BOM that survives a shortage covers second sources.
What should a United States buyer do this month?
Six things, none of them clever. Get origin and HS classification in writing, ask your broker which measures apply, keep freight assumptions out of your part choice, request date codes, check the shelf, and cross a second source. The decisions on duty and classification are yours and your broker’s.
- Ask your broker whether Section 301 applies to the origin and classification of each line on your BOM. Read the EY alert, not a headline.
- Ask Walsin, through us, for origin per part number. It is not in any file we hold.
- Treat freight direction as Drewry reported it, not as a plan. Ask your forwarder about your lane.
- Request the date code for each lot before you commit.
- Check ready stock for Hong Kong lines. The snapshot is as at 23 September 2026.
- Paste your BOM into the free cross-reference tool to see Walsin parts for each line, with differences stated, not hidden. Qualification stays with you.
Our MLCC and chip resistor pages list the series we cover. We supply no origin statement for any part.
The short version
Since 24 July 2026 the sources we read put a 12.5% Section 301 duty on goods from China and Hong Kong, and on 15 October Drewry reported Asia-Europe freight rising after 13 weekly falls. Our own files cannot help with either: 0 of 203 carry origin, HS or weight, and only 266 of 1,125 stock lines carry a text date code. Fix the paperwork before the price.
Send us your BOM and we will return the Walsin parts for each line, the datasheet we hold and the date code we can see. And a question back: who on your team owns the country-of-origin answer for each part, and have they been asked since July?
Sources
All fetched on 20 October 2026. We paraphrase them and report what they say, without endorsing any rate.
- EY, “USTR finalizes Section 301 forced labor tariffs on 60 economies”, dated 24 July 2026: https://taxnews.ey.com/news/2026-1607-ustr-finalizes-section-301-forced-labor-tariffs-on-60-economies-additional-tariffs-of-10-percent-or-125-percent-take-effect-24-july-2026
- Dimerco, “US Tariff Update 2026”, page last modified 1 October 2026: https://dimerco.com/us-tariff-update-2026/
- Drewry, World Container Index, 15 October 2026: https://www.drewry.co.uk/supply-chain-advisors/supply-chain-expertise/world-container-index-assessed-by-drewry
- Container News, “Container freight rates rebound as Asia-Europe indexes diverge”, dated 19 October 2026: https://container-news.com/container-freight-rates-rebound-as-asia-europe-indexes-diverge
- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, “Container rates fall during Golden Week”, dated 12 October 2026: https://www.giftsanddec.com/supply-chain/container-rates-fall-during-golden-week-but-hormuz-risks-intensify/
Frequently asked questions
Does the Section 301 forced-labor tariff apply to Hong Kong goods?
EY’s alert dated 24 July 2026 lists Hong Kong at 12.5%, the same as China, effective 24 July 2026. Whether it applies to your part depends on origin and classification, which we do not state. Ask your customs broker.
Does your data show a part’s country of origin?
No. We searched the column names of all 203 Walsin export files for origin, country, HS, tariff, duty and weight and found none. No document we hold names a manufacturing site. Ask for origin per part number in writing; it is on our request list.
Did Asia freight rates rise in October 2026?
Drewry’s index for 15 October 2026 rose 3% week on week, and its Shanghai-Rotterdam rate rose 6% after 13 consecutive weekly falls. Shanghai-New York fell 1%. We quote Drewry’s direction, not price levels, and cannot say how your order will ship.
Is there a date code on the parts you hold in Hong Kong?
For 266 of 1,125 lines in the snapshot dated 23 September 2026 there is a text date code. 442 are blank and 417 hold a timestamp. Stock moves, so ask for the date code on the exact lot before you order.
Can I get a second source for a part on my BOM?
Paste it into the free cross-reference tool and read the matches and mismatches for each Walsin part. It covers MLCC and chip resistors among other lines. Confirm against both datasheets and qualify the part in your own circuit.
Is this customs or legal advice?
No. We report what named sources say and the limits of our own data. Your customs broker and compliance team decide origin, classification and duty. Treat every rate here as a lead to check against the official notice.