5201.00.55

Analysis

HTS 5201.00.55 covers described in general note 15 of the tariff schedule and entered pursuant to its provisions under heading 5201 (cotton, not carded or combed).

The general rate is 1.5¢/kg, a specific or compound duty rather than a simple percentage, so the effective burden depends on the unit value of the goods: cheap goods pay proportionally more than expensive ones. Importers usually convert it to an ad valorem equivalent to compare it with other lines.

Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and 10 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 1.5¢/kg. 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 111920 (Cotton Farming). That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.

Every edition we compared, from Jan 2023 to Oct 2026 (Rev. 22), shows the same general rate of 1.5¢/kg.