HTS tariff line · chapter 29
2918.19.12
Phenylglycolic acid (Mandelic acid), its salts and esters: mandelic acid
Analysis
HTS 2918.19.12 covers phenylglycolic acid (Mandelic acid), its salts and esters: mandelic acid under heading 2918 (carboxylic acids with additional oxygen function and their anhydrides, halides, peroxides…).
Within this group the rate runs from 4% to 6.5%. Compared with 2918.19.31 (other: other), which pays 6.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 6.5 percentage points.
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 325199 (All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing), an industry of 894 US establishments employing 77,304 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
The general rate of Free has not changed in any edition of the schedule since Jan 2023.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2918.19.11 | Benzilic acid, methyl ester | 5.8% |
| 2918.19.15 | Phenylglycolic acid (Mandelic acid), its salts and esters: other | 6.5% |
| 2918.19.20 | Products described in additional U.S. note 3 to section VI | 6.5% |
| 2918.19.31 | Other: other | 6.5% |
| 2918.19.60 | Other: malic acid | 4% |
| 2918.19.90 | Other: other | 4% |