5309.21.30

Analysis

HTS 5309.21.30 covers containing cotton and man-made fibers under heading 5309 (woven fabrics of flax). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 9 ten-digit suffixes, reported in square metres and kilograms.

Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 14.5%. Compared with 5309.21.20 (containing more than 17 percent by weight of wool or fine animal hair…), which pays 14.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 7.6 percentage points.

The general duty rate is 6.9% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 53 (88th percentile of 30 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $690 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

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 6.9%. 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 column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 78%, 11.3 times the general rate.

The ten-digit suffixes separate poplin or broadcloth, sheeting, printcloth, poplin or broadcloth, sheeting and printcloth. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.