1209.91.80

Analysis

HTS 1209.91.80 covers vegetable seeds: other under heading 1209 (seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 16 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.

The general rate is 1.5¢/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.

The ten-digit suffixes separate broccoli, green cabbage, carrot, radish, spinach and cucumber and 8 more. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.

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 1.5¢/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.