Analysis
HTS 2840.19.00 covers disodium tetraborate (refined borax): other under heading 2840 (borates; peroxoborates (perborates)).
Rates on the nearby lines range from 0.3% to 3.7%. The costliest confusion would be with 2840.30.00 (peroxoborates (perborates)) at 3.7%, a difference of 3.6 points on the customs value.
The general duty rate is 0.1% of the customs value, which is at the low end 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 $10 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The other lines in the same group are 2840.11.00 (disodium tetraborate (refined borax): anhydrous, 0.3%), 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, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
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 0.1%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2840.11.00 | Disodium tetraborate (refined borax): anhydrous | 0.3% |
| 2840.20.00 | Borates; peroxoborates (perborates): other borates | 3.7% |
| 2840.30.00 | Peroxoborates (perborates) | 3.7% |