Analysis
HTS 1209.22.20 covers clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds: white and ladino under heading 1209 (seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing).
The general rate is 1.6¢/kg, a specific or compound duty rather than a simple percentage, so the effective burden depends on the unit value of the goods: cheap goods pay proportionally more than expensive ones. Importers usually convert it to an ad valorem equivalent to compare it with other lines.
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 1.6¢/kg. 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 111998 (All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming). 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 1.6¢/kg.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1209.10.00 | Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing: sugar beet seeds | Free |
| 1209.21.00 | Alfalfa (lucerne) seeds | 1.5¢/kg |
| 1209.22.40 | Clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds: other | Free |
| 1209.23.00 | Seeds of forage plants: fescue seeds | Free |
| 1209.24.00 | Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis L.) seeds | 1.2¢/kg |
| 1209.25.00 | Rye grass (Lolium multiflorium Lam., Lolium perenne L.) seeds | 1.4¢/kg |
| 1209.29.10 | Other: beet | Free |
| 1209.29.91 | Other: other | Free |
| 1209.30.00 | Seeds of herbaceous plants cultivated principally for their flowers | 1¢/kg |
| 1209.91.10 | Vegetable seeds: cauliflower | 5.9¢/kg |
| 1209.91.20 | Vegetable seeds: celery | Free |
| 1209.91.40 | Vegetable seeds: onion | Free |
| 1209.91.50 | Vegetable seeds: parsley | 0.68¢/kg |
| 1209.91.60 | Vegetable seeds: pepper | Free |
| 1209.91.80 | Vegetable seeds: other | 1.5¢/kg |
| 1209.99.20 | Other: tree and shrub | Free |
| 1209.99.41 | Other: other | 0.83¢/kg |