Analysis
HTS 0305.69.30 covers mackerel: other under heading 0305 (fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, whether or not cooked before or during the…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 5%. Compared with 0305.69.20 (in immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less…), which pays 5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 5 percentage points.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 86% of the 272 tariff lines in chapter 03, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 311710 (Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging), an industry of 516 US establishments employing 29,132 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Every edition we compared, from Jan 2023 to Oct 2026 (Rev. 22), shows the same general rate of Free.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0305.69.10 | Cusk, haddock, hake (Urophycis spp.) and pollock | Free |
| 0305.69.20 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less each | 5% |
| 0305.69.40 | Other: salmon | 3% |
| 0305.69.50 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less each | Free |
| 0305.69.60 | Other: other | 0.5% |