4501

Analysis

Heading 4501 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule covers natural cork, raw or simply prepared; waste cork; crushed, granulated or ground cork. It divides into 2 six-digit subheadings and 3 eight-digit tariff lines, with 3 ten-digit statistical suffixes below them.

Every one of its 3 tariff lines is duty-free at the general rate, so classification within the heading affects statistics and Chapter 99 measures rather than the base duty.

The largest subheadings are 4501.90 (other, 2 lines) and 4501.10 (unnamed, 1 line).

By Census's concordance, most of its statistical lines are made by All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing (321999). Those are the NAICS industries a US producer of these goods would report under.

Its median rate of duty-free sits at the 47th percentile of the headings in chapter 45.

The heading text decides whether a product belongs here at all (General Rule of Interpretation 1); the subheadings and lines below it only apply once that is settled. Section and chapter notes can override the heading wording, so read them for borderline goods.