Analysis
HTS 2516.20.10 covers crude or roughly trimmed under heading 2516 (granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone and other monumental or building stone, whether or…).
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 3%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 2516.90.00 (granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone and other monumental or building…), at 3%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 3 percentage points.
Goods classified here enter the United States duty-free at the general (normal trade relations) rate, as do about 91% of the 78 tariff lines in chapter 25. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
The other lines in the same group are 2516.11.00 (crude or roughly trimmed, duty-free), 2516.12.00 (merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of…, 2.8%), 2516.20.20 (merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of…, 3%) and 2516.90.00 (granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone and other monumental…, 3%).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 212311 (Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying), an industry of 379 US establishments employing 4,660 people. That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2516.11.00 | Crude or roughly trimmed | Free |
| 2516.12.00 | Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape | 2.8% |
| 2516.20.20 | Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape | 3% |
| 2516.90.00 | Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone and other monumental or building stone, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape: other monumental or building stone | 3% |