Analysis
HTS 1604.14.10 covers in airtight containers: in oil under heading 1604 (prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 3 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
Within this group the rate runs from 4.9% to 12.5%. Compared with 1604.14.70 (bonito (Sarda spp.): in oil), which pays 4.9%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 30.1 percentage points.
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 35%. 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 general duty rate is 35% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 16 (100th percentile of 108 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $3,500 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 45%, 1.3 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1604.14.22 | In containers weighing with their contents not over 7 kg each, and not the product of any insular possession of the United States, for an aggregate quantity entered in any calendar year not to exceed 4.8 percent of apparent United States consumption of tuna in airtight containers during the immediately preceding year, as reported by the National Marine Fisheries Service | 6% |
| 1604.14.30 | Not in oil: other | 12.5% |
| 1604.14.40 | In bulk or in immediate containers weighing with their contents over 6.8 kg each, not in oil | 1.1¢/kg |
| 1604.14.50 | Not in airtight containers: other | 6% |
| 1604.14.70 | Bonito (Sarda spp.): in oil | 4.9% |
| 1604.14.80 | Bonito (Sarda spp.): not in oil | 6% |