Analysis
HTS 2902.90.30 covers alkylbenzenes and polyalkylbenzenes under heading 2902 (cyclic hydrocarbons). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
For statistics it divides in two: 2902.90.30.10 for dodecylbenzene and 2902.90.30.50 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 26% of the 1050 tariff lines in chapter 29, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325194 (Cyclic Crude, Intermediate, and Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing), an industry of 68 US establishments employing 5,542 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
All 5 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
The general rate of Free has not changed in any edition of the schedule since Jan 2023.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2902.90.10 | Other: pseudocumene | Free |
| 2902.90.20 | Acenaphthene, chrysene, cymene, dimethylnaphthalenes, fluoranthene, fluorene, indene, mesitylene, methylanthracene, methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene | Free |
| 2902.90.40 | Anthracene; and 1,4-Di-(2-methylstyryl)benzene | Free |
| 2902.90.60 | Biphenyl (Diphenyl), in flakes | Free |
| 2902.90.90 | Other: other | Free |