Analysis
HTS 2525.20.00 covers mica, including splittings; mica waste: mica powder under heading 2525 (mica, including splittings; mica waste).
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 91% of the 78 tariff lines in chapter 25, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. 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 2525.10.00 (crude mica and mica rifted into sheets or splittings, duty-free) and 2525.30.00 (mica, including splittings; mica waste: mica waste, duty-free).
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 20% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 20% duty.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 327992 (Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing), an industry of 275 US establishments employing 10,279 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
All 2 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2525.10.00 | Crude mica and mica rifted into sheets or splittings | Free |
| 2525.30.00 | Mica, including splittings; mica waste: mica waste | Free |