Analysis
HTS 4202.92.31 covers of man-made fibers under heading 4202 (trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items and kilograms.
Rates on the nearby lines range from 3.4% to 20%. The costliest confusion would be with 4202.92.10 (insulated food or beverage bags: other) at 3.4%, a difference of 14.2 points on the customs value.
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 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.
For statistics it divides in two: 4202.92.31.20 for backpacks (670) and 4202.92.31.31 for other (670). Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| 4202.92.10 | Insulated food or beverage bags: other | 3.4% |
| 4202.92.15 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: of cotton (369) | 6.3% |
| 4202.92.20 | Of vegetable fibers and not of pile or tufted construction: other (870) | 5.7% |
| 4202.92.33 | Of paper yarn or of cotton; containing 85 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste | 17.6% |
| 4202.92.39 | With outer surface of textile materials: other (870) | 17.6% |
| 4202.92.45 | Travel, sports and similar bags: other | 20% |
| 4202.92.50 | Musical instrument cases | 4.2% |
| 4202.92.60 | Other: of cotton | 6.3% |
| 4202.92.91 | Of man-made fibers (except jewelry boxes of a kind normally sold at retail with their contents) (670) | 17.6% |
| 4202.92.93 | With outer surface of textile materials: other | 17.6% |
| 4202.92.94 | Cases designed to protect and transport compact disks (CD's), CD Rom disks, CD players, cassette players, and/or cassettes | 17.6% |
| 4202.92.97 | Other: other | 17.6% |