Analysis
HTS 1504.10.40 covers fish-liver oils and their fractions: other under heading 1504 (fats and oils and their fractions, of fish or marine mammals, whether or not refined, but…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to duty-free. Compared with 1504.20.20 (fats and oils and their fractions, of fish, other than liver oils: cod), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 2.5 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.5% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 15 (55th percentile of 37 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $250 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 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 2.5%. 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 114111 (Finfish Fishing), an industry of 1,436 US establishments employing 2,739 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1504.10.20 | Fish-liver oils and their fractions: cod | Free |
| 1504.20.20 | Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish, other than liver oils: cod | Free |
| 1504.20.40 | Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish, other than liver oils: herring | 1¢/kg |
| 1504.20.60 | Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish, other than liver oils: other | 1.5¢/kg + 5% |
| 1504.30.00 | Fats and oils and their fractions, of marine mammals | 1.7¢/kg + 5% |