Analysis
HTS 3208.20.00 covers based on acrylic or vinyl polymers under heading 3208 (paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or…).
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 3.6%. 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 3.6% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 32 (39th percentile of 106 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $360 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 25%, 6.9 times the general rate.
The other lines in the same group are 3208.10.00 (based on polyesters, 3.7%) and 3208.90.00 (paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based…, 3.2%).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325510 (Paint and Coating Manufacturing), an industry of 1,125 US establishments employing 46,345 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3208.10.00 | Based on polyesters | 3.7% |
| 3208.90.00 | Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a nonaqueous medium; solutions as defined in note 4 to this chapter: other | 3.2% |