# tariffmonitor-mcp

**tariffmonitor-mcp is US import tariff lookup software by 0xpi for AI agents and developers: an MCP server that looks up 19,856 HTS codes and estimates stacked US import duty rates (MFN, Section 301 and Section 232) by country of origin. Free and open source, with a free hosted endpoint.** It is not an electricity or energy tariff tool. Made by [0xpi](https://0xpi.com/about); 0xpi is not affiliated with Pi Network, any cryptocurrency or blockchain project.

MCP server for the **Tariff Exposure Monitor** — a live US import tariff calculator covering 19,856 HTS codes.

Give Claude (or any MCP-compatible AI) the ability to look up real stacked tariff rates and see what changes when the Section 301 China product exclusions end (**through 11:59 p.m. ET on January 9, 2027** per the Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-22925, which extended the earlier 9 Nov 2026 end) for any product.

## What it does

Three tools:

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `lookup_hts_code` | Search 19,856 HTS codes by product name or numeric prefix. Everyday words a keyword search misses (laptop, t-shirt, water bottle, earbuds, toys, e-bike, running shoes and ~90 more) map to the official USITC heading(s) that cover them, with the 10-digit lines ranked by match |
| `calculate_tariff` | Returns an estimated stacked rate (MFN base + China Section 301 by HTS line, Lists 1-4A and the 2024 four-year-review increases + Section 232 steel/aluminum/copper matched by HTS line to the chapter 99 U.S. note 16 lists + Section 301 Brazil + the 2026 Section 301 forced-labor tariff on 60 economies; other Section 232 programs flagged as needs review), the date the data was checked, each exemption or assumption, and the Section 301 China exclusion end (11:59 p.m. ET, 9 Jan 2027 per the Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-22925). Optional: annual import volume → dollar impact; `date` (YYYY-MM-DD) → the rate in force on that entry date |
| `compare_origins` | One HTS code, 2-8 origin countries side by side (e.g. CN vs VN vs MX vs IN), lowest rate first, with each layer, the post-9-Nov-2026 rate and optional annual dollar duty. For sourcing and "China plus one" decisions |
| `classify_product` | A product description or invoice line, or a product photo (https URL or base64, up to 1024 px), to up to 3 suggested HTS-10 codes: description from our HTS data, a reason that quotes it, a confidence label, and the stacked duty for an optional origin. Suggestions to verify, not a CBP ruling. Photos are read by a self-hosted model on our own server and are not stored. On the free hosted endpoint a photo counts as 2 of the 25 daily calls. Running it from the npm package needs your own Ollama server (`TM_OLLAMA_URL`, a vision model such as gemma4:e2b and a text model such as gpt-oss:20b) |

**Effective-date-aware (1.5.0, 4 Nov 2026).** Pass `date` to `calculate_tariff` or `compare_origins` and the rule in force on that entry date is applied (default: today, US Eastern). For products of China the server applies the 178 Section 301 product exclusions by statistical number (HTSUS ch. 99 U.S. note 20(vvv) and 20(www), headings 9903.88.69/.70, through 9 Jan 2027 per FR Doc. 2026-22925): a whole-number exclusion takes the List duty off the total, a description-limited one is reported with the rate for matching goods. It also applies the maritime Section 301 headings: 9903.92.10 (+25% on ship-to-shore gantry cranes since 27 Sep 2024) and, from 10 Jan 2027 (the maritime action is suspended through 9 Jan 2027 by FR Doc. 2026-22867), 9903.91.14 (+100% on those cranes, on top of 9903.92.10 as U.S. note 31(l)(i) states) and 9903.91.12 (+100% on intermodal chassis, shown as "up to" because chapter 99 does not say how it combines with List 3). Each answer cites its chapter 99 note and Federal Register document, and says when it depends on a proposed, not final, extension. A daily Federal Register check moves these dates the day a final notice is published.

Example exchange: a real capture from the live hosted endpoint (/mcp-free) on 2026-10-26 (version 1.4), not a mock-up:

```
You: What's the tariff on athletic footwear from China, and what does it cost me at $800k/year?

Claude: [calls lookup_hts_code query="athletic footwear", then calculate_tariff
         hts_code="6404110000", origin_country="CN", annual_import_value_usd=800000]

Note: 6404110000 is not in the schedule. This rate is for heading 640411, resolved to 6404112030.

HTS 6404112030 — For men
Origin: CN
Data checked: 2026-10-24

Rate stack:
  MFN base rate (10.5%): +10.50%
  Section 301 China, List 4A (heading 9903.88.15): +7.50%
  Section 301 forced-labor tariff (2026): +12.50%
Total current rate: 30.50%

No rate change projected for this code/country combination when the Section 301 China exclusions end.

Section 301 forced-labor tariff (FR Doc. 2026-15181; data checked 2026-10-24): included (+12.5%). China: +12.5%, heading 9903.05.31. Stacks on other Section 301 duties.

Section 232 steel, aluminum and copper coverage is checked by HTS line (U.S. note 16(c)); the other Section 232 programs (vehicles and parts, wood products, trucks, semiconductors) are flagged when the line is named in their notes. Goods subject to any of them are exempt from this layer (U.S. note 52(f)).

Section 301 China product exclusion end: USTR extended the 178 exclusions "through 11:59 p.m. eastern time on January 9, 2027" (FR Doc. 2026-22925, published 10 Nov 2026), replacing the earlier end of 11:59 p.m. EDT on 9 Nov 2026 (FR Doc. 2025-21671). The calculator applies the exclusions by statistical number (see above).

Dollar impact at $800,000/yr import value:
  Current annual duties: $244,000
```

The Section 301 forced-labor layer (USTR, 60 economies, entries from 12:01 a.m. ET on 24 Jul 2026,
Federal Register 91 FR 47318, HTS 9903.05.20-9903.05.84) is 12.5% or 10% depending on origin; for the
EU and Taiwan it tops the MFN rate up to 10%, and for Japan, South Korea and Switzerland up to 12.5%.
Products listed in U.S. note 52 and goods carrying a Section 232 layer are exempt; exemptions that
depend on facts the tool cannot see (USMCA or CAFTA-DR qualification, civil-aircraft or pharmaceutical
use) are stated as assumptions in the answer.

Rates change, and a rate is per HTS code and origin country - treat the numbers above as the shape
of the answer, not as a quote for your shipment. The tool never invents a rate: if the upstream is
unreachable or the code is not in the schedule, it says so instead of estimating.

## Try it without installing (free hosted remote)

A keyless public endpoint serves the same three tools over Streamable HTTP:

```
https://adcreator-ai.com/mcp-free
```

- No key, no signup. Limits: 25 tool calls per IP per day, and 500 per day across all users (reset 00:00 UTC). `initialize` and `tools/list` do not count.
- Over the limit you get a JSON-RPC error (HTTP 429) that points to the npm package below, which has no limit because it runs on your machine.
- Each call is logged (time, method, tool, status, user agent, client IP, and the client name the MCP client reports) to measure use and filter scanners. The log does not store tool arguments. Log lines are deleted after 365 days. Full details: [Privacy Policy](#privacy-policy).

Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http tariffmonitor https://adcreator-ai.com/mcp-free`

## Install (Claude Desktop)

Add to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tariffmonitor": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tariffmonitor-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

Restart Claude Desktop. The `lookup_hts_code`, `calculate_tariff`, `compare_origins` and `classify_product` tools appear automatically (`classify_product` needs `TM_OLLAMA_URL`; the hosted endpoint has it).

## Install (Cursor / other MCP clients)

```json
{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "tariffmonitor": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "tariffmonitor-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## No API key required

The tool calls the free public API at adcreator-ai.com. No signup, no rate limits for reasonable use.

## Related

- [Free tariff calculator](https://adcreator-ai.com/tariffs/calculator) — browser version
- [Official US Harmonized Tariff Schedule](https://hts.usitc.gov/) — the authoritative rates

Built by [Dale Weaver / 0xpi](https://0xpi.com).

## Privacy Policy

The hosted endpoint `https://adcreator-ai.com/mcp-free` is covered by the privacy notice at
https://adcreator-ai.com/public/mcp-privacy.html. In short:

- **Collected:** for each request, the time, MCP method, tool name, status, duration, client IP address, user agent and the client name/version sent at `initialize`. Tool arguments are not stored in the call log. Rate limits use a hashed form of the IP address.
- **Use:** answering the call, rate limits, abuse and scanner filtering, and counting use. No profiling, advertising or sale of data.
- **Sharing:** none beyond hosting providers. HTS lookups go to our own tariff database (adcreator-ai.com), which records the HTS code and origin country of each rate lookup without your IP address. No data is sent to AI providers.
- **Retention:** call-log lines are deleted automatically after 365 days; rate-limit counters last one day.
- **Contact:** customer.service@0xpi.com for access or deletion requests.

The npm package (`npx -y tariffmonitor-mcp`) runs on your machine and sends only its lookups (product search words, HTS codes and origin countries) to the same tariff database.