Analysis
Heading 2839 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule covers silicates; commercial alkali metal silicates. It divides into 3 six-digit subheadings and 4 eight-digit tariff lines, with 4 ten-digit statistical suffixes below them.
None of its 4 lines is duty-free at the general rate. Rates run from 1.1% to 3.1% with a median of 2.1%, so the line you choose sets the duty.
The largest subheadings are 2839.90 (other, 2 lines), 2839.11 (unnamed, 1 line) and 2839.19 (unnamed, 1 line).
By Census's concordance, most of its statistical lines are made by Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing (325180). Those are the NAICS industries a US producer of these goods would report under.
Its median rate of 2.1% sits at the 41st percentile of the headings in chapter 28.
The heading text decides whether a product belongs here at all (General Rule of Interpretation 1); the subheadings and lines below it only apply once that is settled. Section and chapter notes can override the heading wording, so read them for borderline goods.
Tariff lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2839.11.00 | Sodium metasilicates | 1.1% |
| 2839.19.00 | Of sodium: other | 1.1% |
| 2839.90.10 | Other: of potassium | 3.1% |
| 2839.90.50 | Other: other | 3.1% |