Analysis
HTS 4202.31.30 covers of reptile leather under heading 4202 (trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle…).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 20%. The costliest confusion would be with 4202.39.90 (other: other) at 20%, a difference of 16.3 points on the customs value.
The general duty rate is 3.7% of the customs value, which is at the low end of the rates in chapter 42 (24th percentile of 88 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $370 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 3.7%. 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 35%, 9.5 times the general rate.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 31699 (Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing), an industry of 633 US establishments employing 11,305 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 4202.11.00 | With outer surface of leather or of composition leather | 8% |
| 4202.12.21 | Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases and similar containers | 20% |
| 4202.12.29 | With outer surface of plastics: other | 20% |
| 4202.12.40 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: of cotton (369) | 6.3% |
| 4202.12.60 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: other (870) | 5.7% |
| 4202.12.81 | Of man-made fibers | 17.6% |
| 4202.12.89 | With outer surface of textile materials: other | 17.6% |
| 4202.19.00 | Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar containers: other | 20% |
| 4202.21.30 | Of reptile leather | 5.3% |
| 4202.21.60 | Valued not over $20 each | 10% |
| 4202.21.90 | Valued over $20 each | 9% |
| 4202.22.15 | With outer surface of sheeting of plastics | 16% |
| 4202.22.35 | Wholly or in part of braid: of abaca | 8.4% |
| 4202.22.40 | Wholly or in part of braid: other | 7.4% |
| 4202.22.45 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: of cotton (369) | 6.3% |
| 4202.22.60 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: other (871) | 5.7% |
| 4202.22.70 | Containing 85 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste | 7% |
| 4202.22.81 | Of man-made fibers (670) | 17.6% |
| 4202.22.89 | Other: other | 17.6% |
| 4202.29.10 | Of materials (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: of plastics | 5.3% |
| 4202.29.20 | Of materials (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: of wood | 3.3% |
| 4202.29.50 | Of materials (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: other | 7.8% |
| 4202.29.90 | Other: other | 20% |
| 4202.31.60 | With outer surface of leather or of composition leather: other | 8% |
| 4202.32.10 | Of reinforced or laminated plastics | 12.1¢/kg + 4.6% |
| 4202.32.20 | With outer surface of sheeting of plastics: other | 20% |
| 4202.32.40 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: of cotton (369) | 6.3% |
| 4202.32.80 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: other (871) | 5.7% |
| 4202.32.85 | Containing 85 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste | Free |
| 4202.32.91 | Other: of cotton (369) | 17.6% |
| 4202.32.93 | Of man-made fibers (670) | 17.6% |
| 4202.32.99 | Other: other (871) | 17.6% |
| 4202.39.10 | Of material (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: of plastics | 5.3% |
| 4202.39.20 | Of material (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: of wood | 3.3% |
| 4202.39.50 | Of material (other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard) wholly or mainly covered with paper: other | 7.8% |
| 4202.39.90 | Other: other | 20% |
| 4202.91.10 | With outer surface of leather or of composition leather: golf bags | 4.5% |
| 4202.91.90 | With outer surface of leather or of composition leather: other | 4.5% |
| 4202.92.04 | Beverage bags whose interior incorporates only a flexible plastic container of a kind for storing and dispensing potable beverages through attached flexible tubing | 7% |
| 4202.92.08 | With outer surface of textile materials: other | 7% |