6203.49.05

Analysis

HTS 6203.49.05 covers trousers, breeches and shorts under heading 6203 (men's or boys' suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 7 ten-digit suffixes, reported in dozens and kilograms.

Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 27.9%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 6203.49.60 (containing 70 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 27.9 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 27.9%. 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 general duty rate is 27.9% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 62 (97th percentile of 352 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $2,790 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 90%, 3.2 times the general rate.

The ten-digit suffixes separate containing 36 percent or more by weight…, men's, imported as parts of playsuits, men's and imported as parts of playsuits. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.