Analysis
HTS 7002.20.50 covers rods: other under heading 7002 (glass in balls (other than microspheres of heading 7018), rods or tubes, unworked).
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 6%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 7002.31.00 (of fused quartz or other fused silica), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 6 percentage points.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 6%. 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 column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 65%, 10.8 times the general rate.
The general duty rate is 6% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 70 (59th percentile of 192 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $600 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 7002.10.10 | Not over 6 mm in diameter | 3.9% |
| 7002.10.20 | Balls: other | Free |
| 7002.20.10 | Of fused quartz or other fused silica | Free |
| 7002.31.00 | Of fused quartz or other fused silica | Free |
| 7002.32.00 | Of other glass having a linear coefficient of expansion not exceeding 5 x 10-6 per Kelvin within a temperature range of 0˚C to 300˚C | 6% |
| 7002.39.00 | Tubes: other | 6% |