Analysis
HTS 7403.21.00 covers copper-zinc base alloys (brass) under heading 7403 (refined copper and copper alloys, unwrought (other than master alloys of heading 7405)).
The general duty rate is 1% of the customs value, which is at the low end of the rates in chapter 74 (20th percentile of 89 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $100 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
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 1%. 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.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 331410 (Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining), an industry of 112 US establishments employing 8,755 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 6%, 6.0 times the general rate.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 7403.11.00 | Cathodes and sections of cathodes | 1% |
| 7403.12.00 | Refined copper: wire bars | 1% |
| 7403.13.00 | Refined copper: billets | 1% |
| 7403.19.00 | Refined copper: other | 1% |
| 7403.22.00 | Copper-tin base alloys (bronze) | 1% |
| 7403.29.01 | Copper alloys: other copper alloys | 1% |