Analysis
HTS 7616.10.50 covers cotters and cotter pins under heading 7616 (other articles of aluminum).
The general duty rate is 5.7% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 76 (86th percentile of 65 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $570 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 5.7%. 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.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from 4.7% to 6%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 7616.10.30 (nails, tacks, staples (other than those of heading 8305), screws…), at 4.7%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 1 percentage points.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 45%, 7.9 times the general rate.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 7616.10.10 | Nails, tacks and staples | 5.7% |
| 7616.10.30 | Nails, tacks, staples (other than those of heading 8305), screws, bolts, nuts, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers and similar articles: rivets | 4.7% |
| 7616.10.70 | Having shanks, threads or holes over 6 mm in diameter | 5.5% |
| 7616.10.90 | Other: other | 6% |