Analysis
HTS 3206.49.10 covers concentrated dispersions of pigments in plastics materials under heading 3206 (other coloring matter; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter, other than…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 6.5%. Compared with 3206.49.40 (preparations based on carbon black), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 5.9 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 5.9%. 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 general duty rate is 5.9% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 32 (50th percentile of 106 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $590 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325130 (Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing), an industry of 125 US establishments employing 8,305 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3206.49.20 | Preparations based on iron oxides | 6.5% |
| 3206.49.30 | Preparations based on zinc oxides | 1.3% |
| 3206.49.40 | Preparations based on carbon black | Free |
| 3206.49.55 | Pigments and preparations based on hexacyanoferrates (ferrocyanides and ferricyanides) | 3.7% |
| 3206.49.60 | Other: other | 3.1% |