Analysis
HTS 2811.12.00 covers hydrogen cyanide (hydrocyanic acid) under heading 2811 (other inorganic acids and other inorganic oxygen compounds of nonmetals).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 4.2%. The costliest confusion would be with 2811.29.20 (other: selenium dioxide) at duty-free, a difference of 4.2 points on the customs value.
The general duty rate is 4.2% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 28 (82nd percentile of 274 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $420 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 4.2%. 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.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 25%, 6.0 times the general rate.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325180 (Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing), an industry of 705 US establishments employing 41,447 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2811.11.00 | Hydrogen fluoride (Hydrofluoric acid) | Free |
| 2811.19.10 | Other: arsenic acid | 2.3% |
| 2811.19.30 | Other: hydrobromic acid | Free |
| 2811.19.61 | Other: other | 4.2% |
| 2811.21.00 | Other inorganic oxygen compounds of nonmetals: carbon dioxide | 3.7% |
| 2811.22.10 | Synthetic silica gel | 3.7% |
| 2811.22.50 | Silicon dioxide: other | Free |
| 2811.29.10 | Other: arsenic trioxide | Free |
| 2811.29.20 | Other: selenium dioxide | Free |
| 2811.29.30 | Other: sulfur dioxide | 4.2% |
| 2811.29.50 | Other: other | 3.7% |