Analysis
HTS 8429.59.50 covers other: other under heading 8429 (self-propelled bulldozers, angledozers, graders, levelers, scrapers, mechanical shovels…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 4 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
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.
There is no general-rate duty on this line, which puts it with roughly 61% of the 823 tariff lines in chapter 84 that are also free. Chapter 99 measures such as Section 301 or 232 can still apply on top, depending on where the goods come from.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 333120 (Construction Machinery Manufacturing), an industry of 651 US establishments employing 64,700 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
The ten-digit suffixes separate ladder type and used or rebuilt. The duty is the same across them; the suffix matters for statistics, licensing and some quotas, and an entry needs all ten digits.
All 10 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8429.11.00 | Bulldozers and angledozers: track laying | Free |
| 8429.19.00 | Bulldozers and angledozers: other | Free |
| 8429.20.00 | Graders and levelers | Free |
| 8429.30.00 | Self-propelled bulldozers, angledozers, graders, levelers, scrapers, mechanical shovels, excavators, shovel loaders, tamping machines and road rollers: scrapers | Free |
| 8429.40.00 | Tamping machines and road rollers | Free |
| 8429.51.10 | Front-end shovel loaders: wheel-type | Free |
| 8429.51.50 | Front-end shovel loaders: other | Free |
| 8429.52.10 | Backhoes, shovels, clamshells and draglines | Free |
| 8429.52.50 | Machinery with a 360˚ revolving superstructure: other | Free |
| 8429.59.10 | Backhoes, shovels, clamshells and draglines | Free |