Analysis
HTS 3206.49.40 covers preparations based on carbon black under heading 3206 (other coloring matter; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter, other than…).
Within this group the rate runs from 1.3% to 6.5%. Compared with 3206.49.20 (preparations based on iron oxides), 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 19% of the 106 tariff lines in chapter 32, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Duty-free at the general rate does not rule out additional duties under Chapter 99, such as Section 301 or Section 232 measures, which depend on the country of origin.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 20% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 20% duty.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 3206.49.10 | Concentrated dispersions of pigments in plastics materials | 5.9% |
| 3206.49.20 | Preparations based on iron oxides | 6.5% |
| 3206.49.30 | Preparations based on zinc oxides | 1.3% |
| 3206.49.55 | Pigments and preparations based on hexacyanoferrates (ferrocyanides and ferricyanides) | 3.7% |
| 3206.49.60 | Other: other | 3.1% |