Analysis
HTS 8215.99.40 covers with base metal (except stainless steel) or nonmetal handles under heading 8215 (spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers, fish-knives, butter-knives, sugar tongs…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 14%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 8215.99.30 (spoons valued under 25¢ each), at 14%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 9 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 5% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 82 (74th percentile of 95 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $500 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 5%. 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 40%, 8.0 times the general rate.
For statistics it divides in two: 8215.99.40.30 for tablespoons and table ladles and 8215.99.40.60 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8215.99.01 | Valued under 25¢ each, not over 25.9 cm in overall length | 0.9¢ each + 15.8% |
| 8215.99.05 | With handles containing nickel or containing over 10 percent by weight of manganese: other | 0.5¢ each + 8.5% |
| 8215.99.10 | Valued under 25¢ each | 0.5¢ each + 6.3% |
| 8215.99.15 | Other: other | 0.4¢ each + 4.8% |
| 8215.99.20 | With rubber or plastic handles | 0.5¢ each + 3.2% |
| 8215.99.22 | Without their handles | Free |
| 8215.99.24 | Table forks (including table serving forks) and barbecue forks with wooden handles | 0.3¢ each + 4.5% |
| 8215.99.26 | Other: other | 0.2¢ each + 3.1% |
| 8215.99.30 | Spoons valued under 25¢ each | 14% |
| 8215.99.35 | With stainless steel handles: other | 6.8% |
| 8215.99.45 | Spoons and ladles: other | Free |
| 8215.99.50 | Other: other (including parts) | 5.3% |