Analysis
HTS 0308.21.00 covers live, fresh or chilled under heading 0308 (aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh, chilled, frozen…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
For statistics it divides in two: 0308.21.00.21 for roe and 0308.21.00.29 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
Goods classified here enter the United States duty-free at the general (normal trade relations) rate, as do about 86% of the 272 tariff lines in chapter 03. 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 114112 (Shellfish Fishing), an industry of 940 US establishments employing 1,604 people. That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.
All 7 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
Every edition we compared, from Jan 2023 to Oct 2026 (Rev. 22), shows the same general rate of Free.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0308.11.00 | Live, fresh or chilled | Free |
| 0308.12.00 | Sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus, Holothuroidea): frozen | Free |
| 0308.19.01 | Sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus, Holothuroidea): other | Free |
| 0308.22.00 | Sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp., Paracentrotus lividus, Loxechinus albus, Echinus esculentus): frozen | Free |
| 0308.29.01 | Sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp., Paracentrotus lividus, Loxechinus albus, Echinus esculentus): other | Free |
| 0308.30.00 | Jellyfish (Rhopilema spp.) | Free |
| 0308.90.01 | Aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process: other | Free |