2026 TRQs for certain Australian agricultural products under HTSUS Ch. 98 AUSN 8–19 announced, with quota period and opening rules.
CBP has published Quota Bulletin 26-103 establishing 2026 tariff-rate quota administration for agricultural products from Australia entered under HTSUS Chapter 98, Additional U.S. Notes 8–19. The quota period runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026, with an opening date of January 2, 2026. Entries filed between 12:01 a.m. local time and 8:30 a.m. ET on opening day will share an 8:30 a.m. entry time and be prorated if group limits are exceeded.
CBP has issued Quota Bulletin 26-103 for the 2026 Australia Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) agricultural tariff-rate quotas. The bulletin covers agricultural products described in Chapter 98 subheadings of the HTSUS that are linked to the Australia FTA via Additional U.S. Notes (AUSN) 8 through 19. These provisions typically allow qualifying Australian-origin agricultural products to enter at reduced or zero in-quota duty rates up to specified annual quantitative limits, with higher over-quota rates once the limits are filled.
The quota period for these AUSFTA agricultural TRQs runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. However, the quota opening date for filing quota claims is Friday, January 2, 2026. For quota allocation purposes, all entries submitted after 12:01 a.m. local port time and before 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on January 2, 2026, will be assigned an entry time of 8:30 a.m. ET. If, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the total quantity requested for any covered HTSUS group exceeds that group’s annual quota limit, CBP will prorate the in-quota quantities among all accepted entries in that group.
For customs brokers and trade compliance teams, this directly affects duty outcomes for Australian agricultural imports that rely on these TRQs. To secure in-quota duty treatment, brokers must: (1) identify products that qualify under the relevant Chapter 98 subheadings and AUSN 8–19; (2) ensure proper declaration of the Chapter 98 provisions and quota indicators on entries; and (3) time filings around the January 2, 2026 opening, understanding that early-morning entries will be treated as simultaneous at 8:30 a.m. ET and may be subject to proration. Over-quota entries will face higher MFN or other applicable duty rates.
Importers should review Quota Bulletin 26-103 on CBP’s website to obtain the specific HTSUS subheadings, quota quantities, and in-quota duty rates for each agricultural product group. Internal systems and broker instructions should be updated for 2026 to reflect the correct Chapter 98 codes, AUSFTA eligibility criteria, and quota management strategy. Monitoring quota fill during the year will be important for planning shipments and estimating landed costs, as once a quota is filled, subsequent entries will no longer benefit from the preferential in-quota rates.