Analysis
HTS 0406.40.20 covers in original loaves under heading 0406 (cheese and curd).
Within this group the rate runs from 4.5% to 20%. Compared with 0406.40.58 (described in additional U.S. note 17 to this chapter and entered…), which pays 20%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 17.3 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.7% of the customs value, which is at the low end of the rates in chapter 04 (4th percentile of 126 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $270 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 13.0 times the general rate.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 2.7%. It is also eligible under GSP, the developing-country programme, which Congress has to renew; check whether GSP is in force on the entry date.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 311513 (Cheese Manufacturing), an industry of 568 US establishments employing 60,731 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0406.40.40 | Roquefort: other | 4.5% |
| 0406.40.44 | In original loaves | 12.8% |
| 0406.40.48 | Stilton cheese described in additional U.S. note 24 to this chapter and entered pursuant to its provisions: other | 17% |
| 0406.40.51 | In original loaves | 15% |
| 0406.40.52 | Described in general note 15 of the tariff schedule and entered pursuant to its provisions: other | 20% |
| 0406.40.54 | In original loaves | 15% |
| 0406.40.58 | Described in additional U.S. note 17 to this chapter and entered pursuant to its provisions: other | 20% |
| 0406.40.70 | Other: other | $2.269/kg |