Analysis
HTS 6402.91.80 covers valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair under heading 6402 (other footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 6 ten-digit suffixes, reported in pairs.
The general rate is 90¢/pr. + 20%, a specific or compound duty rather than a simple percentage, so the effective burden depends on the unit value of the goods: cheap goods pay proportionally more than expensive ones. Importers usually convert it to an ad valorem equivalent to compare it with other lines.
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 90¢/pr. + 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 ten-digit suffixes separate tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym…, work footwear and work footwear. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.
Statistical suffixes
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% |
| 6402.91.16 | Valued not over $3/pair | 24% |
| 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% |
| 6402.91.90 | Valued over $12/pair | 20% |