7312.10.05

Analysis

HTS 7312.10.05 covers fitted with fittings or made up into articles under heading 7312 (stranded wire, ropes, cables, plaited bands, slings and the like, of iron or steel, not…).

Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 45% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 45% duty.

The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 77% of the 250 tariff lines in chapter 73, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Duty-free at the general rate does not rule out additional duties under Chapter 99, such as Section 301 or Section 232 measures, which depend on the country of origin.

Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 332618 (Other Fabricated Wire Product Manufacturing), an industry of 710 US establishments employing 19,060 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.

All 8 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.