3212.90.00

Analysis

HTS 3212.90.00 covers pigments (including metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in nonaqueous media, in liquid or paste form, of a kind used in the manufacture of paints (including… under heading 3212 (pigments (including metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in nonaqueous media, in liquid…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.

Within this group the rate runs from 4.7% to 4.7%. Compared with 3212.10.00 (pigments (including metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in…), which pays 4.7%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 1.6 percentage points.

The general duty rate is 3.1% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 32 (32nd percentile of 106 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $310 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

For statistics it divides in two: 3212.90.00.10 for metallic aluminum pigments and 3212.90.00.50 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.

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 3.1%. 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 25%, 8.1 times the general rate.