Analysis
HTS 7318.21.00 covers spring washers and other lock washers under heading 7318 (screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in kilograms.
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 12.5%. Compared with 7318.12.00 (threaded articles: other wood screws), which pays 12.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 6.7 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 5.8% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 73 (95th percentile of 250 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $580 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Automotive Products Trade Act, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, and 13 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 5.8%. 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. Reduced but not zero rates apply under some agreements: 2.9% for JP.
For statistics it divides in two: 7318.21.00.30 for helical spring lock washers and 7318.21.00.90 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 6.0 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 7318.11.00 | Threaded articles: coach screws | 12.5% |
| 7318.12.00 | Threaded articles: other wood screws | 12.5% |
| 7318.13.00 | Screw hooks and screw rings | 5.7% |
| 7318.14.10 | Having shanks or threads with a diameter of less than 6 mm | 6.2% |
| 7318.14.50 | Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more | 8.6% |
| 7318.15.20 | Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment | Free |
| 7318.15.40 | Machine screws 9.5 mm or more in length and 3.2 mm or more in diameter (not including cap screws) | Free |
| 7318.15.50 | Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: studs | Free |
| 7318.15.60 | Having shanks or threads with a diameter of less than 6 mm | 6.2% |
| 7318.15.80 | Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more | 8.5% |
| 7318.16.00 | Threaded articles: nuts | Free |
| 7318.19.00 | Threaded articles: other | 5.7% |
| 7318.22.00 | Non-threaded articles: other washers | Free |
| 7318.23.00 | Non-threaded articles: rivets | Free |
| 7318.24.00 | Cotters and cotter pins | 3.8% |
| 7318.29.00 | Non-threaded articles: other | 2.8% |