4002.11.00

Analysis

HTS 4002.11.00 covers styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR); carboxylated styrene-butadiene rubber (XSBR): latex under heading 4002 (synthetic rubber and factice derived from oils, in primary forms or in plates, sheets or…).

The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 39% of the 142 tariff lines in chapter 40, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Duty-free at the general rate does not rule out additional duties under Chapter 99, such as Section 301 or Section 232 measures, which depend on the country of origin.

Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 20% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 20% duty.

Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 325212 (Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing), an industry of 153 US establishments employing 11,337 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.

All 13 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.