Analysis
HTS 2840.11.00 covers disodium tetraborate (refined borax): anhydrous under heading 2840 (borates; peroxoborates (perborates)).
Within this group the rate runs from 0.1% to 3.7%. Compared with 2840.30.00 (peroxoborates (perborates)), which pays 3.7%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 3.4 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 0.3% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 28 (30th percentile of 274 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $30 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The other lines in the same group are 2840.19.00 (disodium tetraborate (refined borax): other, 0.1%), 2840.20.00 (borates; peroxoborates (perborates): other borates, 3.7%) and 2840.30.00 (peroxoborates (perborates), 3.7%).
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.
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 0.3%. 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.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2840.19.00 | Disodium tetraborate (refined borax): other | 0.1% |
| 2840.20.00 | Borates; peroxoborates (perborates): other borates | 3.7% |
| 2840.30.00 | Peroxoborates (perborates) | 3.7% |