Analysis
Subheading 2505.10 covers silica sands and quartz sands, within heading 2505. The first six digits are shared by every country that uses the Harmonized System, so this part of the code is the same in the US, UK and EU schedules; the 2 US tariff lines below it are national.
Every one of its 2 tariff lines is duty-free at the general rate, so classification within the subheading affects statistics and Chapter 99 measures rather than the base duty.
The US splits it as follows: 2505.10.10 for sand containing by weight 95 percent or more of silica and not more… (duty-free) and 2505.10.50 for silica sands and quartz sands: other (duty-free).
By Census's concordance, most of its statistical lines are made by Industrial Sand Mining (212322). Those are the NAICS industries a US producer of these goods would report under.
Goods only reach 2505.10 once they fall within heading 2505 (natural sands of all kinds, whether or not colored, other than metalbearing sands of…). Under General Rule 6, subheadings are then compared only with others at the same level, so a product is matched against its siblings, not against lines elsewhere in the chapter.
Tariff lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2505.10.10 | Sand containing by weight 95 percent or more of silica and not more than 0.6 percent of oxide of iron | Free |
| 2505.10.50 | Silica sands and quartz sands: other | Free |