Analysis
HTS 5309.21.40 covers other: other under heading 5309 (woven fabrics of flax). 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 6.9% 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 14.5 percentage points.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 40% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 40% duty.
For statistics it divides in two: 5309.21.40.10 for of a width exceeding 127 cm (810) and 5309.21.40.90 for other (810). Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 77% of the 30 tariff lines in chapter 53, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Chapter 99 measures such as Section 301 or 232 can still apply on top, depending on where the goods come from.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 5309.21.20 | Containing more than 17 percent by weight of wool or fine animal hair (410) | 14.5% |
| 5309.21.30 | Containing cotton and man-made fibers | 6.9% |