Analysis
HTS 1604.16.20 covers in oil, in airtight containers under heading 1604 (prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 5%. The costliest confusion would be with 1604.16.40 (in immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less…) at 5%, a difference of 5 points on the customs value.
There is no general-rate duty on this line, which puts it with roughly 46% of the 108 tariff lines in chapter 16 that are also free. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 30% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 30% duty.
The other lines in the same group are 1604.16.40 (in immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg…, 5%) and 1604.16.60 (other: other, duty-free).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 311710 (Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging), an industry of 516 US establishments employing 29,132 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1604.16.40 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less each | 5% |
| 1604.16.60 | Other: other | Free |