Analysis
HTS 0602.90.60 covers with soil attached to roots under heading 0602 (other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 3 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 4.8%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 0602.90.90 (other: other), at 4.8%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.9 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 1.9% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 06 (39th percentile of 23 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $190 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 13 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 1.9%. 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 column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 25%, 13.2 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0602.90.20 | Herbaceous perennials: orchid plants | Free |
| 0602.90.30 | With soil attached to roots | 1.4% |
| 0602.90.40 | Other: other | 3.5% |
| 0602.90.50 | Other: mushroom spawn | 1.4¢/kg |
| 0602.90.90 | Other: other | 4.8% |