Analysis
HTS 8109.99.00 covers other: other under heading 8109 (zirconium and articles thereof, including waste and scrap).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 4.2%. Compared with 8109.39.00 (waste and scrap: other), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 3.7 percentage points.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 45%, 12.2 times the general rate.
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 3.7%. 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.
The general duty rate is 3.7% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 81 (51st percentile of 71 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $370 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 331491 (Nonferrous Metal (except Copper and Aluminum) Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding), an industry of 199 US establishments employing 12,115 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8109.21.00 | Containing less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium by weight | 4.2% |
| 8109.29.00 | Unwrought zirconium; powders: other | 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% |