# 2025-10949: Harvard and UW Beg for Tariff Waivers on Chinese Quantum Gear

2025-10949, University of Washington et. al; Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments, is a Federal Register notice from Commerce Department, International Trade Administration published 2025-06-16, effective Comments must be postmarked on or before July 7, 2025. (as of 2026-06-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-10949
- As of: 2026-06-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-10949
- Title: University of Washington et. al; Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Commerce Department; International Trade Administration
- Citation: 90 FR 25222
- Published: 2025-06-16
- Effective: Comments must be postmarked on or before July 7, 2025.
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-08

## In one line

Harvard and UW Beg for Tariff Waivers on Chinese Quantum Gear

## Summary

The University of Washington, Harvard University, and South Dakota School of Mines want to bring in super high-tech scientific instruments from China without paying import taxes. These tools will help them study cutting-edge materials and quantum tech that aren’t made in the U.S. If you have thoughts, speak up by July 7, 2025, before the government decides on duty-free entry.

## Effects PRIA read

- University of Washington Seeks Duty-Free Lasers: benefit, low. The University of Washington applied to import femtosecond lasers with ultrahigh power from China for studying two-dimensional materials and semiconductors. The application was accepted by the Commissioner of Customs on March 12, 2025, and requests duty-free entry because the applicant says no equi…
- Harvard Applies to Import Narrow Linewidth Laser: benefit, low. Harvard University applied to import a narrow linewidth laser from China to use in a dual-species atom array for quantum information processing. The application was accepted by the Commissioner of Customs on March 25, 2025, and requests duty-free entry because the applicant states there are no U.S.…
- South Dakota School Seeks 2D Material Stage Duty-Free: benefit, low. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology applied to import a 2D material transfer stage with an optical microscope from China for work on exciton-polariton interactions in 2D heterostructures. The application was accepted by the Commissioner of Customs on March 3, 2025, and requests duty-fre…
- Rice University Requests Erbium Vacuum System Duty-Free: benefit, low. William Marsh Rice University applied to import an Erbium vacuum system from China to develop quantum simulation technologies and study quantum matter. The application, accepted by the Commissioner of Customs on March 21, 2025, requests duty-free entry on the grounds that no equivalent U.S.-manufac…
- Caltech Seeks Duty-Free Narrow Linewidth Laser: benefit, low. The California Institute of Technology applied to import a narrow linewidth laser system from China to run quantum science experiments with cesium-133 atoms for deep quantum circuits and error-corrected quantum simulation. The application was accepted by the Commissioner of Customs on April 25, 202…

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## Sources
- [2025-10949 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/16/2025-10949/university-of-washington-et-al-applications-for-duty-free-entry-of-scientific-instruments)
- [2025-10949 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-16/pdf/2025-10949.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-10949 (as of 2026-06-08).