3901.20.10

Analysis

HTS 3901.20.10 covers having a relative viscosity of 1.44 or more under heading 3901 (polymers of ethylene, in primary forms).

Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 6.5%. Compared with 3901.90.10 (other: elastomeric), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves 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.

Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325211 (Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing), an industry of 1,285 US establishments employing 88,827 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.