Analysis
HTS 8215.91.30 covers plated with precious metal: forks under heading 8215 (spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers, fish-knives, butter-knives, sugar tongs…).
Within this group the rate runs from 2.7% to 4.2%. Compared with 8215.91.60 (plated with precious metal: spoons and ladles), which pays 4.2%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 4.2 percentage points.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 41% of the 95 tariff lines in chapter 82, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
The other lines in the same group are 8215.91.60 (plated with precious metal: spoons and ladles, 4.2%) and 8215.91.90 (plated with precious metal: other (including parts), 2.7%).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 332215 (Metal Kitchen Cookware, Utensil, Cutlery, and Flatware (except Precious) Manufacturing), an industry of 205 US establishments employing 6,704 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8215.91.60 | Plated with precious metal: spoons and ladles | 4.2% |
| 8215.91.90 | Plated with precious metal: other (including parts) | 2.7% |