Analysis
HTS 3215.11.90 covers black: other under heading 3215 (printing ink, writing or drawing ink and other inks, whether or not concentrated or solid). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 6 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
The general duty rate is 1.8% of the customs value, which is at the low end of the rates in chapter 32 (25th percentile of 106 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $180 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 1.8%. The costliest confusion would be with 3215.11.10 (in engineered shapes, for insertion into apparatus of subheadings…) at duty-free, a difference of 1.8 points on the customs value.
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 1.8%. 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 ten-digit suffixes separate news, flexographic, gravure, letterpress and offset Lithographic. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3215.11.10 | In engineered shapes, for insertion into apparatus of subheadings 8443.31, 8443.32 or 8443.39 | Free |
| 3215.11.30 | Solid: other | 1.8% |