Analysis
HTS 8109.29.00 covers unwrought zirconium; powders: other under heading 8109 (zirconium and articles thereof, including waste and scrap).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 4.2%. The costliest confusion would be with 8109.39.00 (waste and scrap: other) at duty-free, a difference of 4.2 points on the customs value.
The general duty rate is 4.2% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 81 (65th percentile of 71 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $420 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 4.2%. 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 25%, 6.0 times the general rate.
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.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8109.21.00 | Containing less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium by weight | 4.2% |
| 8109.31.00 | Containing less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium by weight | Free |
| 8109.39.00 | Waste and scrap: other | Free |
| 8109.91.00 | Containing less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium by weight | 3.7% |
| 8109.99.00 | Other: other | 3.7% |