The Great Quartz Shakeup: How 50% Tariffs Are Transforming America's Countertop Industry

A new tariff-rate quota on imported quartz surface products takes effect August 15, 2026. It arrives six months after the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that upended this market in the first place.

If you have been trying to plan slab inventory through the last twelve months, you have been aiming at a moving target. Here is where the target actually is now.

The short version:

• The 50% tariff on Indian quartz that halted shipments in late 2025 is gone — reduced by agreement in February 2026, then invalidated entirely when the Supreme Court ruled the underlying authority unlawful.

• Antidumping and countervailing duties on quartz from China, India, and Türkiye never went away. They were never IEEPA-based, and they were formally continued in January 2026.

• A new safeguard tariff-rate quota on quartz surface products takes effect August 15, 2026, under different legal authority, and runs for four years.

Verified August 7, 2026.

What Takes Effect on August 15, 2026?

On July 31, 2026, the President issued a proclamation imposing a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on imports of certain quartz surface products, following an International Trade Commission recommendation in May 2026. It takes effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on August 15, 2026.

What is covered: HTS subheadings 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, and 7020.00.6000.

How a TRQ works: a set volume enters at a lower duty rate. Everything above that volume pays a higher over-quota rate. It is a volume-based brake rather than a flat tariff — imports are not blocked, they get progressively more expensive past a threshold.

Duration: four years, with the within-quota volumes increasing and the duty rates decreasing in years two, three, and four. The measure is designed to taper.

Countries exempt: Australia, Canada, Colombia, South Korea, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Singapore, plus CAFTA-DR nations and Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act beneficiaries.

Legal basis: Section 203 of the Trade Act — the safeguard mechanism. This matters, and the next section explains why.

Worth noting: the specific quota volumes and duty rates are set out in the proclamation's annex rather than the proclamation text. If you are importing under these HTS codes, pull the annex directly before August 15 rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

Why Did the Previous Tariffs Disappear?

Two separate events, three weeks apart.

February 2, 2026 — the India agreement. The United States and India announced a trade deal cutting US tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%, rescinding the punitive 25% duty tied to Russian oil purchases in exchange for India ending those purchases.

February 20, 2026 — the Supreme Court ruling. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court held 6–3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose tariffs at all. Chief Justice Roberts noted that IEEPA "contains no reference to tariffs or duties."

That decision invalidated the entire IEEPA structure: the "reciprocal" tariffs on most trading partners, the tariffs tied to immigration and opioid trafficking, and the country-specific IEEPA actions against Brazil and India.

What this means: the 25% reciprocal tariff that hit Indian goods on August 7, 2025, and the additional 25% that stacked on August 27, 2025 — the combination that made Indian quartz uneconomic and stopped shipments — were both struck down as unlawful.

On refunds: the government stipulated in January 2026 that it would refund IEEPA duties following a final and unappealable decision. The Supreme Court did not order a refund process, and the mechanics remain unsettled. If your company paid IEEPA duties on quartz entries, this is a conversation for your customs broker and trade counsel, not something to assume resolves automatically.

What Duties Are Still in Force on Quartz?

This is where a lot of trade coverage went wrong in the spring. The Supreme Court struck down one authority, not all of them. Several things affecting quartz imports were never IEEPA-based and were unaffected.

Antidumping and countervailing duties are the durable layer. Quartz surface products from China carry combined AD/CVD rates that have run above 300% — an antidumping rate around 314% plus countervailing duties on top. That is the reason Chinese quartz has been effectively absent from the US market since 2019, and none of the 2025–2026 upheaval changed it.

India and Türkiye remain subject to AD/CVD orders that the ITC formally continued in January 2026.

What this means for distributors: the sourcing calculus that mattered before August 2025 still matters. The IEEPA layer was loud, disruptive, and temporary. The AD/CVD layer is quiet, permanent, and larger.

What Should Distributors Do Before August 15?

Pull the annex. The quota volumes and rates are the whole substance of this measure and they are not in the proclamation text. If you import under 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, or 7020.00.6000, your broker needs the annex now.

Check whether your source country is exempt. The exemption list is long and includes Mexico, Canada, and South Korea — all meaningful quartz sources. If you are sourcing from an exempt country, the TRQ does not apply to you.

Understand the quota timing risk. In a TRQ, the within-quota volume fills on a first-come basis. Late-year entries are more likely to land in over-quota territory. That is a scheduling problem as much as a cost problem.

Do not re-plan around the four-year taper yet. Rates decrease in years two through four, but safeguards can be modified, extended, or terminated early, and this one arrives with an unusual amount of surrounding litigation.

Does Any of This Change the Silica Question?

Not directly — and it is worth being clear about that, because the two stories keep getting braided together.

Tariffs change where slabs come from and what they cost. They do not change what is in them. A tariff-driven shift from Indian to Turkish quartz moves the supply chain without moving the crystalline silica content, which in standard engineered quartz runs to roughly 93%.

The materials question is being driven by a different set of forces: Australia's prohibition on engineered stone at or above 1% crystalline silica, California's High-Exposure Trigger Task controls, and the silicosis litigation now producing eight-figure verdicts.

Where the two stories genuinely intersect is domestic capacity. Trade measures that raise the landed cost of imported quartz improve the relative economics of US production — and several of the domestic plants coming online are being built around lower-silica and silica-free formulations rather than conventional quartz. That is a real convergence. It is also slower than tariff headlines suggest, and it depends on those plants reaching commercial volume.

What this means for specifiers: do not let a supply-chain conversation substitute for a materials conversation. A domestically produced high-silica slab carries the same fabrication hazard as an imported one.

See also: Silica Content by Countertop Brand: The Complete 2026 Guide

What Actually Happened: The Timeline

What This Means for Your Business

Distributors: the annex is the document that matters. Get it before August 15 and model your Q4 entries against the quota volume, not just the rate.

Fabricators: slab pricing volatility is not over, but the driver has changed from an unpredictable emergency authority to a scheduled four-year safeguard with published rates. That is easier to plan against, once you have the numbers.

Architects and designers: specification lead times on imported quartz may lengthen in Q4 as quota volumes fill. If a project has a fixed slab specification and a tight schedule, confirm availability with the distributor rather than assuming.

See also: Silica-Free Countertop Options 2026: Complete Guide to Engineered Stone + Alternatives See also: The Cambria Silicosis Verdict: What a $17.45M Jury Ruling Means for Everyone in the Supply Chain

Sources

The August 2026 safeguard

• Presidential proclamation, "To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition From Imports of Quartz Surface Products," July 31, 2026 — HTS 6810.99.0020, 6810.99.0040, 7020.00.6000; effective August 15, 2026: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/to-facilitate-positive-adjustment-to-competition-from-imports-of-quartz-surface-products/

• International Trade Insights analysis of the quartz TRQ, including exempt countries and four-year structure: https://www.internationaltradeinsights.com/2026/08/president-trump-issues-proclamation-imposing-tariff-rate-quota-on-quartz-surface-products/

• Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, Section 201 petition on quartz products: https://www.strtrade.com/trade-news-resources/str-trade-report/trade-report/september/new-section-201-petition-calls-for-higher-tariffs-on-quartz-products

The Supreme Court ruling

• Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287 (February 20, 2026): https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf

• SCOTUSblog, "Supreme Court strikes down tariffs": https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/supreme-court-strikes-down-tariffs/

• WilmerHale, "Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs — What Now?": https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20260220-supreme-court-strikes-down-ieepa-tariffs-what-now

• Congressional Research Service, LSB11398: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11398

The 2025 tariffs and the India agreement

• HSF Kramer, secondary tariffs raising combined India rate to 50%: https://www.hsfkramer.com/notes/sanctions/2025-posts/us-imposes-secondary-tariffs-on-russian-oil-purchases-raising-combined-india-tariffs-to-50

• Reuters, February 2, 2026 — US cuts India tariffs to 18%: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/trump-says-agreed-trade-deal-with-india-2026-02-02/

Antidumping and countervailing duties

• Federal Register, January 15, 2026 — continuation of AD/CVD orders on quartz surface products from India and Türkiye: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/15/2026-00739/certain-quartz-surface-products-from-india-and-the-republic-of-trkiye-continuation-of-antidumping

• Trade Law Counsel, AD/CVD on quartz surface products from China: https://www.tradelawcounsel.com/adcvd-quartz

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This article replaces an August 2025 piece written while the 50% IEEPA tariff on Indian quartz was in force. That tariff was reduced by agreement on February 2, 2026, and the underlying authority was struck down by the Supreme Court on February 20, 2026. The original article's market-size and container-volume figures were unsourced and have not been carried forward. Rewritten August 7, 2026.

Disclaimer: Silica Free News is an independent publication covering silica-free and low-silica surface materials for distributors, architects, interior designers, and other industry professionals in the United States and Canada. Our content is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, customs, trade, or professional specification advice. Tariff classification and duty liability are entity- and entry-specific; consult a licensed customs broker or trade counsel before acting.

Although we make reasonable efforts to provide accurate and current information, product specifications, compositions, certifications, availability, and regulatory requirements may change. Readers should verify all material information directly with the manufacturer and consult the applicable legal, regulatory, or governmental authority before specifying, purchasing, fabricating, or installing any product.