Analysis
HTS 0406.40.51 covers in original loaves under heading 0406 (cheese and curd).
Within this group the rate runs from 2.7% to 20%. Compared with 0406.40.20 (in original loaves), which pays 2.7%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 12.3 percentage points.
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 15%. 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.
The general duty rate is 15% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 04 (68th percentile of 126 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $1,500 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 2.3 times the general rate.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 0406.40.20 | In original loaves | 2.7% |
| 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% |
| 0406.40.52 | 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 |