US Tariffs on European Alcohol-Free Drinks in 2026

As of September 2026, an alcohol-free drink made in the EU pays a combined 10% of its customs value when it enters the United States. Since 24 July 2026 a Section 301 duty has topped the ordinary MFN rate up to 10%, so an $8,000 pallet under HTS 2202.99 now pays about $844 in duty and entry fees, against about $46 under the rules in force before 2025.

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Key Takeaways

• 10% combined rate on EU-origin non-alcoholic beer, flavoured waters, wine and spirit alternatives, most juices and wine-heading products entered from 24 July 2026.
• Section 301 fills the gap to 10%. A drink paying 0.2¢ per litre MFN pays just under 10% under Section 301.
• Section 122 has ended. It expired at the close of 23 July 2026; IEEPA duties stopped on 24 February 2026.
• 2025 IEEPA refunds go to the importer of record through CBP's CAPE process, with entries whose liquidation is final still in litigation.
• Entry fees still apply. MPF is 0.3464% with a $33.58 minimum ($34.58 from 1 October 2026), and HMF is 0.125% by sea.

What does an EU alcohol-free drink pay at the US border now?

For goods of an EU member state whose MFN rate is below 10%, CBP collects "a combined column one and Section 301 duty rate of 10%" under heading 9903.05.39, according to CSMS #69326983 of 23 July 2026. The USTR notice of 28 July 2026 sets the rule for EU products: where the MFN tariff is below 10%, MFN plus Section 301 equals 10%, and where MFN is 10% or more, the Section 301 tariff is zero.

Almost every alcohol-free drink has an MFN rate far below 10%. The rates below come from chapter 22 and chapter 20 of the tariff schedule (Revision 19, September 2026), and the exemptions from U.S. note 52(b) and (c) in chapter 99.

Classification follows the finished product. Chapter 22 note 3 defines non-alcoholic beverages for heading 2202 as those "not exceeding 0.5 percent vol." In ruling N332323 of 9 May 2023, CBP classified alcohol-removed wines from Germany below 0.5% ABV in 2202.99.91, so a dealcoholized wine at 0.3% belongs there. At 0.8% the same wine is an alcoholic beverage, which note 3 sends to headings 2203 to 2206 or 2208. It would probably be classified as wine under 2204, but we found no CBP ruling on a dealcoholized wine above 0.5%. The classification and document side is covered in our guide to HS codes and CBP entry for non-alcoholic beverages.

Why 10% in total, and how is it calculated?

Section 301 supplies whatever the MFN rate leaves below 10%. Where the MFN duty is a specific rate in cents per litre, U.S. note 52(k) in chapter 99 converts it to an ad valorem equivalent by dividing the MFN duty payable by the customs value.

At 0.2¢ per litre on a drink with a customs value of $8 a litre, MFN works out at 0.025% of value. The Section 301 duty is then 9.975%, and the total is 10%. For a cheap sparkling wine where 19.8¢ per litre already exceeds 10% of value, heading 9903.05.38 applies and no Section 301 duty is owed.

Does the 15% EU–US ceiling still apply?

No. In the EU–US Joint Statement of 21 August 2025 the United States committed to what the EU calls an "all-inclusive tariff ceiling" of 15% (recital 6 of Regulation (EU) 2026/1455). It delivered that ceiling through IEEPA duties: Executive Order 14326 set MFN plus IEEPA at 15% for EU goods from 7 August 2025. Those duties ended in February 2026.

Nor did the ceiling take effect on 1 July 2026. That date belongs to a different measure: Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 applies from 1 July 2026 (Article 8) and is the EU's own cut to duties on US goods. Its recital 11 describes EU exports as having benefited from the 15% ceiling "until 24 February 2026." For drinks entering the US today, the operative figure is the 10% Section 301 rate.

What changed between 2025 and September 2026?

On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The same day, Executive Order 14389 directed that IEEPA duties end, and CBP stopped collecting them on entries from 24 February 2026 (CSMS #67834313).

The Section 122 surcharge was a flat 10% for 150 days. Section 122 (19 U.S.C. 2132(a)) allows up to 15%, as the proclamation notes; the rate it imposed was 10%. A compiler's note to U.S. note 2(aa) in chapter 99 records that the Section 122 headings "expired at the close of July 23, 2026," so the surcharge is no longer collected.

Since the 28 July notice, USTR's Federal Register listings show no further notice changing the EU rate or the exemption lists, and Revision 19 of the schedule, current in September 2026, carries the same rule. Since then only CBP's fees and the refund process have moved, both covered below.

What does an $8,000 pallet under 2202.99 pay?

Take one pallet of sparkling alcohol-free aperitif from France: 1,000 litres (1,333 bottles of 75 cl), classified under 2202.99.91, customs value $8,000, shipped by sea on its own formal entry. The merchandise processing fee is 0.3464% of value (19 CFR 24.23(b)(1)(i)) with a minimum of $33.58 for entries through 30 September 2026 (CBP Dec. 25-10) and $34.58 from 1 October 2026 (CBP Dec. 26-14). The harbor maintenance fee is 0.125% of value (19 CFR 24.24).

The pre-2025 column uses today's fee levels so that only the tariff change shows. The same pallet entered between 24 February and 23 July 2026 paid $845.58, because Section 122 added a full 10% on top of the $2 MFN duty.

The duty is now ad valorem, so it rises with your declared value. At a $6.00 customs value per bottle, it adds $0.60 at the border, and distributor and retailer margins are then applied on top of that higher cost. Build it into your landed-cost model and carry it through to your US shelf price. Estimated duty is normally deposited with the entry summary, which is due within 10 working days of entry (19 CFR 142.12(b)), usually before the goods have sold. That widens the import cash gap.

Who pays the duty, and what does DDP mean for your price?

The importer of record pays. Under 19 CFR 141.1, duty is "a personal debt due from the importer to the United States," and paying a broker does not discharge it if the broker fails to pay. If a US distributor imports your goods, the 10% is its cost, and it will reflect that in what it pays you.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) moves that cost to you. Under Incoterms 2020 the DDP seller handles and pays for import clearance, while under EXW or DAP the buyer does. An ICC Academy article by an ICC-certified Incoterms trainer warns that import clearance can be difficult and costly for a foreign seller. A European brand quoting DDP must either be the importer of record itself, which a company incorporated outside the US can be only with a US resident agent for service of process and a customs bond (19 CFR 141.18), or have a US importer of record act for it. Either way, its delivered price now has to absorb about 10% of customs value that was close to zero before 2025. Who can act as importer of record is set out in do you need a US importer of record.

Can you recover the tariffs paid in 2025?

The importer of record can recover IEEPA duties. Under the process set out on CBP's refund page (last updated 2 September 2026) and in CSMS #68340863, the importer of record or its filing broker uploads a CAPE Declaration listing entry numbers in the ACE Portal. ACE removes the IEEPA lines and recalculates, and CBP refunds the difference with interest by ACH, generally within 60 to 90 days of acceptance. Refunds go only to the importer of record or a party it designated on CBP Form 4811, and only to a US bank account enrolled for refunds.

The refund covers the IEEPA portion only. CBP's page gives the EU example: the MFN duty stays and the balance above it comes back. On the $8,000 pallet, that is $1,198 for an entry made between 7 August 2025 and 23 February 2026, and $800 for one made between 5 April and 6 August 2025 ($1,600 for an entry on 9 April 2025), before interest. CAPE handles IEEPA duties only, so Section 122 duties paid between 24 February and 23 July 2026 are outside it.

Timing is the constraint. CAPE accepts unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within the preceding 80 days, which leaves CBP time to reliquidate within the 90 days that 19 U.S.C. 1501 allows. It does not accept entries whose liquidation is final. In a declaration filed with the Court of International Trade on 15 September 2026, CBP said it will open a third phase of CAPE on 6 October 2026, covering finally liquidated entries of importers that sued and for which the court has ordered reliquidation.

The government is appealing the Court of International Trade's orders that extend refunds to importers who have not sued (V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, No. 26-1895; government's opening brief). In September 2026 the appeal was still being briefed at the Federal Circuit, with the importers' brief due on 5 October 2026. Suits over IEEPA duties belong to the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. 1581(i), as the Supreme Court noted in footnote 1 of Learning Resources, and are barred unless filed within two years after the claim first accrues (28 U.S.C. 2636(i)). A brand with older 2025 entries that has not sued should take customs counsel's advice now.

If you were not the importer of record in 2025, any refund goes to whoever was. Whether any of it reaches you depends on your contract with that importer.

What else sits on top of the duty?

For these products, no other tariff applies as of September 2026. IEEPA and Section 122 duties have ended. Section 232 metals goods are carved out of the Section 301 action by U.S. note 52(f), and no heading 2202 product appears on the Section 232 metals lists in U.S. note 16 to chapter 99.

Two CBP fees remain, as in the example above. MPF is charged per formal entry and capped at $651.50 through 30 September 2026 and $670.86 from 1 October 2026 (CBP Dec. 26-14). HMF applies to cargo loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel at a US port (19 CFR 24.24), so air freight does not pay it.

Parcels offer no way round the duty. Since 24 June 2026 CBP's regulations suspend the $800 de minimis exemption indefinitely, both for shipments arriving other than by mail (19 CFR 10.151(b), added by CBP's interim final rule 2026-12670) and for mail (19 CFR 145.31(b), added by interim final rule 2026-12669). Low-value shipments therefore need formal or informal entry and pay the duty.

A pre-shipment checklist

1. Test the finished ABV. At 0.5% or below the drink stays in heading 2202; above it, a dealcoholized wine is classified as an alcoholic beverage, probably under 2204.
2. Get the 10-digit HTS code in writing from a licensed customs broker and check it against the exemption lists in U.S. note 52.
3. Price at 10% of customs value plus MPF and, by sea, HMF, using the fee level that will apply on your entry date.
4. Name the importer of record and the Incoterm in the contract, so both sides know who carries the 10%.
5. Make sure the importer of record has an ACE Portal account with a US bank account enrolled for refunds.
6. List every 2025 entry with its importer of record, entry date and liquidation date, and file CAPE declarations for those still eligible.
7. Re-check the rate before each shipment. EU drinks have been under four different US tariff regimes since April 2025.

Duty, entry and refund filings all sit with the importer of record, one of the functions Avenor runs for European alcohol-free brands alongside FDA compliance and fulfilment.

Sources

Laws and regulations:

1. 19 U.S.C. 1501, Voluntary reliquidation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 19 U.S.C. 2132(a), Balance-of-payments authority (Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974)
2. 28 U.S.C. 1581(i), Jurisdiction of the Court of International Trade; 28 U.S.C. 2636(i), Time for commencement of action
3. 19 CFR 10.151(b), Importations not over $800 (suspension for modes other than mail)
4. 19 CFR 24.23(b)(1)(i), Fees for processing merchandise; 19 CFR 24.24(a), Harbor maintenance fee
5. 19 CFR 141.1(b)(1), Liability of importer for duties; 19 CFR 141.18, Entry by nonresident corporation
6. 19 CFR 142.12(b), Time for filing the entry summary
7. 19 CFR 145.31(b), Importations not over $800 in value (suspension for mail)
8. Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2026 Revision 19), chapter 20, Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants (heading 2009, juices); Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2026 Revision 19), chapter 22, note 3 and headings 2202 and 2204, Beverages, spirits and vinegar; Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2026 Revision 19), chapter 99, subchapter III, U.S. notes 2(aa), 16 and 52, headings 9903.05.38 and 9903.05.39, Temporary modifications established pursuant to trade legislation
9. 91 FR 47318 (28 July 2026), FR Doc. 2026-15181, USTR, Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure of Each Economy To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor; Proclamation 11012, 91 FR 9339 (25 February 2026), Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge To Address Fundamental International Payments Problems; Executive Order 14389, 91 FR 9437 (25 February 2026), Ending Certain Tariff Actions; Executive Order 14257, 90 FR 15041 (7 April 2025), Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff; Executive Order 14266, 90 FR 15625 (15 April 2025), Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates To Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment; Executive Order 14316, 90 FR 30823 (10 July 2025), Extending the Modification of the Reciprocal Tariff Rates; Executive Order 14326, 90 FR 37963 (6 August 2025), Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates; CBP Dec. 25-10, 90 FR 34665 (23 July 2025), Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2026; CBP Dec. 26-14, 91 FR 48398 (31 July 2026), Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027; 91 FR 37789 (24 June 2026), FR Doc. 2026-12670, CBP interim final rule, Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network; 91 FR 37801 (24 June 2026), FR Doc. 2026-12669, CBP interim final rule, Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process
10. Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, OJ L, 30.6.2026, recitals 6 and 11 and Article 8, Adjustment of customs duties on imports of certain goods originating in the United States of America (Publications Office copy)
11. Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287 (U.S. 20 February 2026), IEEPA does not authorize tariffs; footnote 1 on the Court of International Trade's jurisdiction
12. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, No. 26-1895 (Fed. Cir.), docket, Consolidated appeal from the Court of International Trade's refund orders

Agency guidance and notices:

13. CBP, CSMS #69326983 (23 July 2026), Guidance: Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties; CBP, CSMS #67834313 (22 February 2026), Ending Collection of International Emergency Economic Powers Act Duties; CBP, CSMS #64680374 (8 April 2025), Guidance: Reciprocal Tariffs, April 5 and April 9, 2025, Effective Dates; CBP, CSMS #68340863 (13 April 2026), Update: Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) for IEEPA Refunds, April 20, 2026, Deployment; CBP, International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Duty Refunds (last modified 2 September 2026), CAPE refund process; CBP, New York ruling N332323 (9 May 2023), Tariff classification of alcohol-removed wine from Germany
14. CBP, Declaration of Brandon Lord, Freestyle World, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ct. No. 26-01088 (Ct. Int'l Trade), ECF No. 50 (15 September 2026), CAPE Phase 3 from 6 October 2026
15. United States, opening brief, V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, Nos. 2026-1895, -1897, -1899 (Fed. Cir. 10 August 2026), Government's appeal from the refund orders
16. Federal Register, documents of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, USTR notices published since 28 July 2026

Other sources:

17. ICC Academy, Miguel Angel Bustamante Morales, "DDP & EXW Incoterms® 2020 explained: Key differences", Import clearance under DDP, DAP and EXW

All sources accessed September 2026.

Summarized from the Federal Register, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (Revision 19), the eCFR, the US Code, CBP guidance, court records and the Official Journal of the EU as of 23 September 2026. This is not legal or customs advice; confirm classification and duty with a licensed customs broker before you price or ship.