4202.12.89

Analysis

HTS 4202.12.89 covers with outer surface of textile materials: other under heading 4202 (trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 6 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items and kilograms.

Within this group the rate runs from 5.7% to 20%. Compared with 4202.12.60 (of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: other…), which pays 5.7%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 11.9 percentage points.

Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, the Israel FTA, and 10 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 17.6%. 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. Reduced but not zero rates apply under some agreements: 16.6% for E.

The general duty rate is 17.6% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 42 (83rd percentile of 88 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $1,760 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 65%, 3.7 times the general rate.

The ten-digit suffixes separate containing 85 percent or more by weight…, of cotton, containing 85 percent or more by weight… and of cotton. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.