5208.31.80

Analysis

HTS 5208.31.80 covers of number 69 or higher number under heading 5208 (woven fabrics of cotton, containing 85 percent or more by weight of cotton, weighing not…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in square metres and kilograms.

Within this group the rate runs from 3% to 9.7%. Compared with 5208.31.20 (certified hand-loomed fabrics), which pays 3%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 9.5 percentage points.

Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, the Israel FTA, and 9 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 12.5%. 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 general duty rate is 12.5% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 52 (91st percentile of 222 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $1,250 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 38.5%, 3.1 times the general rate.

For statistics it divides in two: 5208.31.80.20 for poplin or broadcloth (314) and 5208.31.80.90 for cheesecloth; lawns, voiles or batistes (226). Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.