Analysis
HTS 1209.22.40 covers clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds: other under heading 1209 (seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 6 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
Goods classified here enter the United States duty-free at the general (normal trade relations) rate, as do about 77% of the 44 tariff lines in chapter 12. Chapter 99 measures such as Section 301 or 232 can still apply on top, depending on where the goods come from.
The ten-digit suffixes separate alsike, crimson, double cut and sweet. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 111998 (All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming). That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.
All 17 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 1209.22.20 | Clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds: white and ladino | 1.6¢/kg |
| 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 |