3204.17.04

Analysis

HTS 3204.17.04 covers pigment black 1; Pigment blue 16, 18; Pigment brown 22, 23, 25, 32; Pigment green 8; Pigment orange 31, 34, 36, 51; Pigment red 9, 14, 34, 48:3, 52, 68, 112… under heading 3204 (synthetic organic coloring matter, whether or not chemically defined; preparations as…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 7 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.

Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 6.5%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3204.17.40 (isoindolenine red pigment; Pigment red 214, 242, 254; Pigment red 149…), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 6.5 percentage points.

The general duty rate is 6.5% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 32 (77th percentile of 106 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $650 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

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 6.5%. 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 46.8%, 7.2 times the general rate.

The ten-digit suffixes separate pigment blue 16, pigment orange 31, pigment orange 36, pigment red 144, pigment red 166 and pigment red 177. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.