Analysis
HTS 6212.20.00 covers girdles and panty-girdles under heading 6212 (brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 3 ten-digit suffixes, reported in dozens and kilograms.
Within this group the rate runs from 2.7% to 23.5%. Compared with 6212.10.70 (containing 70 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste), which pays 2.7%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 17.3 percentage points.
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 20%. 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 20% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 62 (90th percentile of 352 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $2,000 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 90%, 4.5 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 6212.10.30 | Containing 70 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste | 4.8% |
| 6212.10.50 | Containing lace, net or embroidery: other | 16.9% |
| 6212.10.70 | Containing 70 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste | 2.7% |
| 6212.10.90 | Other: other | 16.9% |
| 6212.30.00 | Brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted: corsets | 23.5% |
| 6212.90.00 | Brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted: other | 6.6% |