ITC Moves Towards New Quartz Import Tariffs
WASHINGTON, DC -- On May 5, 2026, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued remedy recommendations in its quartz surface products safeguard investigation following its April 1st affirmative injury determination. This came after previously ruling on April 1st that quartz products being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury. The vote is part of a Section 201 “global safeguard” case brought by the Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America (QMAA), a group that includes companies such as Cambria, Dal-Tile, Guidoni and Hyundai L&C, which is seeking either a 50% ad valorem tariff on all quartz imports or quantitative restrictions limiting the volume of material entering the country.
The proposed remedy is a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system lasting four years:
- Imports within a set quota would face a 25% tariff in year 1
- Imports above the quota would face a 40% tariff in year 1
- Both tariff levels would decline by 1% annually over four years
The ITC’s recommendation is not final yet. A looming deadline of May 18th is when the commission will submit its formal report to President Trump. The president then will make the decision to:
- Accept the recommendation
- Modify it
- Impose different tariffs/quotas
- Reject relief entirely
Save Quartz Jobs coalition issued the following statement this week after the ITC released remedy recommendations. “American fabricators, retailers, distributors and suppliers of quartz surfacing products are disappointed by the Commissioners’ recommendations. These recommended trade restrictions fail to reflect the realities that drive today’s thriving U.S. domestic quartz industry. Over 100,000 U.S. jobs are at risk, and these recommendations threaten serious harm to the very workers and businesses the ITC is supposed to protect.
If left unchanged, these recommendations would harm small-and-medium-sized American companies and their workers. And the only benefit would be to exacerbate the already high profits of a handful of multinational companies. A final decision must prioritize economic growth, protect jobs and avoid further straining the nation’s housing affordability crisis.”
Several U.S. senators have reached out to the ITC and urged against imposing tariffs on imported quartz.
“As the Commission moves to the next phase in the 201 investigatory process and recommends a potential remedy, we want to express our concern that the petitioner’s proposal -- a 50% ad valorem tariff and a restrictive quota -- will cause negative repercussions to domestic fabricator businesses, eliminate blue-collar jobs and raise housing prices,” stated U.S. Senator Adam B. Schiff in a letter to the ITC, dated May 4, 2026. “We believe the ITC should consider the above factors when recommending a remedy in this Section 201 investigation. An overly aggressive remedy will likely harm domestic industries and negatively impact consumers.”
In a letter to ITC dated May 1, 2026, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen stated: “In practice, a high tariff will force everyday Americans to pay an exorbitant tax on quartz products or opt for luxury products that cost much more,” as well as, “An overly aggressive remedy is likely to cause more harm to our domestic industries than it is to help, not to mention its impact on consumers and housing supply. We urge the Commission to take a light touch approach and recommend a remedy with the least restrictive measures possible.”
Save Quartz Jobs is a coalition of more than 1,000 U.S. fabricators, retailers, distributors and suppliers supporting over 100,000 American jobs across all 50 states – most of them in manufacturing. Its members are small and family-owned businesses that measure, cut and install quartz surface products.
"As an active participant who represented the stone fabricator's needs during both ITC quartz tariff hearings, I am disappointed in the recommendations going to the president's desk," said Rich Katzmann, an industry leader and co-founder/CCO of Thryve . "There were nine stone shop owners who appeared before the commission testifying how the tariffs would hurt their businesses, including their employees, and requesting that the commissioners focus on pre-fab materials rather than imported slabs. The recommendations ignored this request to carve these out. The USTR is going to do their own hearing to form an opinion and give a recommendation to President Trump. This will be one last chance for stone shops to voice an opinion."
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