Analysis
HTS 4419.12.00 covers of bamboo: chopsticks under heading 4419 (tableware and kitchenware, of wood).
Within this group the rate runs from 3.2% to 5.3%. Compared with 4419.90.11 (other: forks and spoons), which pays 5.3%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 2.1 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 3.2% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 44 (67th percentile of 257 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $320 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 3.2%. 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.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 321999 (All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing), an industry of 2,327 US establishments employing 31,381 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 4419.11.00 | Bread boards, chopping boards and similar boards | 3.2% |
| 4419.19.10 | Other: forks and spoons | 5.3% |
| 4419.19.90 | Other: other | 3.2% |
| 4419.20.10 | Of tropical wood: forks and spoons | 5.3% |
| 4419.20.90 | Of tropical wood: other | 3.2% |
| 4419.90.11 | Other: forks and spoons | 5.3% |
| 4419.90.91 | Other: other | 3.2% |