6212.30.00

Analysis

HTS 6212.30.00 covers brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted: corsets 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.

Neighbouring lines carry rates from 2.7% to 20%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 6212.10.70 (containing 70 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste), at 2.7%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 20.8 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 23.5%. 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 23.5% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 62 (92nd percentile of 352 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $2,350 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.

The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 90%, 3.8 times the general rate.