Analysis
HTS 8420.99.20 covers of machines for making paper pulp, paper or paperboard under heading 8420 (calendering or other rolling machines, other than for metals or glass, and cylinders…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 3.5%. Compared with 8420.99.10 (of machines for processing textiles), which pays 3.5%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 3.5 percentage points.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 35% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 35% duty.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 61% of the 823 tariff lines in chapter 84, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Chapter 99 measures such as Section 301 or 232 can still apply on top, depending on where the goods come from.
The other lines in the same group are 8420.99.10 (of machines for processing textiles, 3.5%) and 8420.99.90 (other: other, duty-free).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 333243 (Sawmill, Woodworking, and Paper Machinery Manufacturing), an industry of 391 US establishments employing 12,466 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8420.99.10 | Of machines for processing textiles | 3.5% |
| 8420.99.90 | Other: other | Free |