Analysis
HTS 3815.11.00 covers with nickel or nickel compounds as the active substance under heading 3815 (reaction initiators, reaction accelerators and catalytic preparations, not elsewhere…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 6.5%. Compared with 3815.90.10 (of bismuth, of tungsten or of vanadium), which pays 6.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 6.5 percentage points.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 25% of the 179 tariff lines in chapter 38, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. 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.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325180 (Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing), an industry of 705 US establishments employing 41,447 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3815.12.00 | With precious metal or precious metal compounds as the active substance | Free |
| 3815.19.00 | Supported catalysts: other | Free |
| 3815.90.10 | Of bismuth, of tungsten or of vanadium | 6.5% |
| 3815.90.20 | Of mercury or of molybdenum | 2.8% |
| 3815.90.30 | Consisting wholly of inorganic substances: other | Free |
| 3815.90.50 | Other: other | 5% |