Analysis
HTS 8456.40.90 covers operated by plasma arc process: other under heading 8456 (machine tools for working any material by removal of material, by laser or other light or…).
The general rate has changed since January 2023: from 2.2%` to 2.2% by Jan 2024. Contracts priced on the older rate need updating.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 3.5%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 8456.12.70 (of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed…), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.2 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.2% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 84 (64th percentile of 823 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $220 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 15.9 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 2.2%. 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.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8456.11.10 | Operated by laser: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.11.70 | Of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits, printed circuit assemblies, parts of heading 8517 or parts of automatic data processing units | Free |
| 8456.11.90 | Other: other | 2.4% |
| 8456.12.10 | Operated by other light or photon beam processes: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.12.70 | Of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits, printed circuit assemblies, parts of heading 8517 or parts of automatic data processing | Free |
| 8456.12.90 | Other: other | 2.4% |
| 8456.20.10 | Operated by ultrasonic processes: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.20.50 | Operated by ultrasonic processes: other | 2.4% |
| 8456.30.10 | Operated by electro-discharge processes: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.30.50 | Operated by electro-discharge processes: other | 2.4% |
| 8456.40.10 | Operated by plasma arc process: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.50.00 | Water-jet cutting machines | 2.5% |
| 8456.90.31 | Other: for working metal | 3.5% |
| 8456.90.71 | Other: other | 2.2% |