Analysis
HTS 2907.12.00 covers cresols and their salts under heading 2907 (phenols; phenol-alcohols).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 5.5%. Compared with 2907.29.15 (other: 4,4'-Biphenol), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 4.2 percentage points.
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 48.3%, 11.5 times the general rate.
The general duty rate is 4.2% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 29 (42nd percentile of 1050 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.
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.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2907.11.00 | Phenol (Hydroxybenzene) and its salts | 5.5% |
| 2907.13.00 | Octylphenol, nonylphenol and their isomers; salts thereof | 5.5% |
| 2907.15.10 | Naphthols and their salts: α-Naphthol | 5.5% |
| 2907.15.30 | β-Naphthol (2-Naphthol) | Free |
| 2907.15.60 | Naphthols and their salts: other | 5.5% |
| 2907.19.10 | Other: alkylcresols | 5.5% |
| 2907.19.20 | Other: alkylphenols | 5.5% |
| 2907.19.40 | Other: thymol | 4.2% |
| 2907.19.61 | 2-tert-Butylethylphenol; 6-tert-Butyl-2,4-xylenol; and Xylenols and their salts | Free |
| 2907.19.80 | Other: other | 5.5% |
| 2907.21.00 | Resorcinol and its salts | 5.5% |
| 2907.22.10 | Photographic grade | 5.5% |
| 2907.22.50 | Hydroquinone (Quinol) and its salts: other | 5.5% |
| 2907.23.00 | 4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol (Bisphenol A, Diphenylolpropane) and its salts | 5.5% |
| 2907.29.05 | Other: phenol-alcohols | 5.5% |
| 2907.29.10 | Other: pyrogallic acid | 1.3% |
| 2907.29.15 | Other: 4,4'-Biphenol | Free |
| 2907.29.25 | tert-Butylhydroquinone | 5.5% |
| 2907.29.90 | Other: other | 5.5% |