6109.10.00

Analysis

HTS 6109.10.00 covers t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted: of cotton under heading 6109 (t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 14 ten-digit suffixes, reported in dozens and kilograms.

Within this group the rate runs from 2.6% to 32%. Compared with 6109.90.10 (of man-made fibers), which pays 32%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 15.5 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 16.5%. 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 16.5% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 61 (81st percentile of 227 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $1,650 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

The ten-digit suffixes separate t-shirts, all white, short hemmed…, singlets, all white, without pockets…, thermal undershirts, men's, boys' and men's and 6 more. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.

The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 90%, 5.5 times the general rate.