Analysis
HTS 6402.91.16 covers valued not over $3/pair under heading 6402 (other footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics).
Within this group the rate runs from 6% to 48%. Compared with 6402.91.60 (valued not over $3/pair), which pays 48%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 24 percentage points.
Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, AGOA, and 11 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 24%. 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 24% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 64 (81st percentile of 131 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $2,400 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 84%, 3.5 times the general rate.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 316210 (Footwear Manufacturing), an industry of 201 US establishments employing 8,781 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 6402.91.05 | Having uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface area (including any accessories or reinforcements such as those mentioned in note 4(a) to this chapter) is rubber or plastics (except footwear having foxing or a foxing-like band applied or molded at the sole and overlapping the upper and except footwear designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals or cold or inclement weather) | 6% |
| 6402.91.10 | Footwear designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals or cold or inclement weather | 37.5% |
| 6402.91.20 | Valued over $3 but not over $6.50/pair | 90¢/pr. + 37.5% |
| 6402.91.26 | Valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair | 90¢/pr. + 20% |
| 6402.91.30 | Valued over $12/pair | 20% |
| 6402.91.40 | Having uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface area (including any accessories or reinforcements such as those mentioned in note 4(a) to this chapter) is rubber or plastics except (1) footwear having a foxing or a foxing-like band applied or molded at the sole and overlapping the upper and (2) except footwear (other than footwear having uppers which from a point 3 cm above the top of the outer sole are entirely of non- molded construction formed by sewing the parts together and having exposed on the outer surface a substantial portion of functional stitching) designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals or cold or inclement weather | 6% |
| 6402.91.42 | Protective active footwear (except footwear with waterproof molded bottoms, including bottoms comprising an outer sole and all or part of the upper and except footwear with insulation that provides protection against cold weather) whose height from the bottom of the outer sole to the top of the upper does not exceed 15.34 cm | 20% |
| 6402.91.50 | Footwear designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals or cold or inclement weather | 37.5% |
| 6402.91.60 | Valued not over $3/pair | 48% |
| 6402.91.70 | Valued over $3 but not over $6.50/pair | 90¢/pr. + 37.5% |
| 6402.91.80 | Valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair | 90¢/pr. + 20% |
| 6402.91.90 | Valued over $12/pair | 20% |