Analysis
HTS 7318.24.00 covers cotters and cotter pins under heading 7318 (screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers…).
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 8.7 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 3.8% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 73 (87th percentile of 250 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $380 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 14 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 3.8%. 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.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 45%, 11.8 times the general rate.
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% |
| 7318.21.00 | Spring washers and other lock washers | 5.8% |
| 7318.22.00 | Non-threaded articles: other washers | Free |
| 7318.23.00 | Non-threaded articles: rivets | Free |
| 7318.29.00 | Non-threaded articles: other | 2.8% |