HTS tariff line · chapter 28
2805.40.00
Alkali or alkaline-earth metals; rare-earth metals, scandium and yttrium, whether or not intermixed or interalloyed; mercury: mercury
Analysis
HTS 2805.40.00 covers alkali or alkaline-earth metals; rare-earth metals, scandium and yttrium, whether or not intermixed or interalloyed; mercury: mercury under heading 2805 (alkali or alkaline-earth metals; rare-earth metals, scandium and yttrium, whether or not…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 5.5%. Compared with 2805.19.90 (other: other), which pays 5.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 3.8 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 1.7% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 28 (39th percentile of 274 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $170 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
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 1.7%. 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.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325180 (Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing), an industry of 705 US establishments employing 41,447 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2805.11.00 | Alkali or alkaline-earth metals: sodium | 5.3% |
| 2805.12.00 | Alkali or alkaline-earth metals: calcium | 3% |
| 2805.19.10 | Other: strontium | 3.7% |
| 2805.19.20 | Other: barium | Free |
| 2805.19.90 | Other: other | 5.5% |
| 2805.30.00 | Rare-earth metals, scandium and yttrium, whether or not intermixed or interalloyed | 5% |