Analysis
HTS 3606.90.40 covers other: metaldehyde under heading 3606 (ferrocerium and other pyrophoric alloys in all forms; articles of combustible materials…).
Neighbouring lines carry rates from 5% to 5.9%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3606.90.30 (ferrocerium and other pyrophoric alloys), at 5.9%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 5.9 percentage points.
Goods classified here enter the United States duty-free at the general (normal trade relations) rate, as do about 25% of the 16 tariff lines in chapter 36. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 25% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 25% duty.
The other lines in the same group are 3606.90.30 (ferrocerium and other pyrophoric alloys, 5.9%) and 3606.90.80 (other: other, 5%).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325998 (All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing), an industry of 1,319 US establishments employing 42,583 people. That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3606.90.30 | Ferrocerium and other pyrophoric alloys | 5.9% |
| 3606.90.80 | Other: other | 5% |