Analysis
HTS 3901.10.10 covers having a relative viscosity of 1.44 or more under heading 3901 (polymers of ethylene, in primary forms).
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 6.5%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3901.90.10 (other: elastomeric), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 6.5 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 6.5% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 39 (86th percentile of 236 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $650 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and 10 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 6.5%. 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 43%, 6.6 times the general rate.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3901.10.50 | Polyethylene having a specific gravity of less than 0.94: other | 6.5% |
| 3901.20.10 | Having a relative viscosity of 1.44 or more | 6.5% |
| 3901.20.50 | Polyethylene having a specific gravity of 0.94 or more: other | 6.5% |
| 3901.30.20 | Vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride-ethylene terpolymers, containing by weight less than 50 percent derivatives of vinyl acetate, except those polymerized from aromatic or modified aromatic monomers | Free |
| 3901.30.60 | Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers: other | 5.3% |
| 3901.40.00 | Ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers, having a specific gravity of less than 0.94 | 6.5% |
| 3901.90.10 | Other: elastomeric | Free |
| 3901.90.55 | Ethylene copolymers | 6.5% |
| 3901.90.90 | Other: other | 6.5% |