Analysis
HTS 3912.20.00 covers cellulose nitrates (including collodions) under heading 3912 (cellulose and its chemical derivatives, not elsewhere specified or included, in primary…).
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 13 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 5.2%. 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.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from 4.2% to 6.4%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3912.31.00 (carboxymethylcellulose and its salts), at 6.4%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 1.2 percentage points.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 34.5%, 6.6 times the general rate.
The general duty rate is 5.2% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 39 (45th percentile of 236 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $520 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3912.11.00 | Cellulose acetates: nonplasticized | 5.6% |
| 3912.12.00 | Cellulose acetates: plasticized | 5.6% |
| 3912.31.00 | Carboxymethylcellulose and its salts | 6.4% |
| 3912.39.00 | Cellulose ethers: other | 4.2% |
| 3912.90.00 | Cellulose and its chemical derivatives, not elsewhere specified or included, in primary forms: other | 5.2% |