2209.00.00

Analysis

HTS 2209.00.00 covers vinegar and substitutes for vinegar obtained from acetic acid under heading 2209 (vinegar and substitutes for vinegar obtained from acetic acid). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in pf.liters and litres.

The general rate is 0.5¢/pf.liter, 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.

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 0.5¢/pf.liter. 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.

For statistics it divides in two: 2209.00.00.30 for certified organic and 2209.00.00.60 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.

It is the only US line under subheading 2209.00, so the six-digit code used by every Harmonized System country and the eight-digit US line describe the same goods; a foreign tariff or an exporter's invoice showing 2209.00 points straight here.