Analysis
HTS 3912.31.00 covers carboxymethylcellulose and its salts under heading 3912 (cellulose and its chemical derivatives, not elsewhere specified or included, in primary…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
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 6.4%. 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 5.6%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 3912.39.00 (cellulose ethers: other), at 4.2%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.2 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 6.4% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 39 (72nd percentile of 236 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $640 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 66%, 10.3 times the general rate.
For statistics it divides in two: 3912.31.00.10 for containing not less than 90 percent by weight of… and 3912.31.00.90 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3912.11.00 | Cellulose acetates: nonplasticized | 5.6% |
| 3912.12.00 | Cellulose acetates: plasticized | 5.6% |
| 3912.20.00 | Cellulose nitrates (including collodions) | 5.2% |
| 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% |