3402.39.10

Analysis

HTS 3402.39.10 covers aromatic or modified aromatic under heading 3402 (organic surface-active agents (other than soap); surface-active preparations, washing…).

Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 6.5%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3402.50.51 (preparations put up for retail sale: other), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 4 percentage points.

The general duty rate is 4% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 34 (74th percentile of 41 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $400 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

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 4%. 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.

Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325613 (Surface Active Agent Manufacturing), an industry of 106 US establishments employing 6,174 people. That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.