Analysis
HTS 8512.10.40 covers visual signaling equipment under heading 8512 (electrical lighting or signaling equipment (excluding articles of heading 8539)…).
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 2.5%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 8512.90.60 (of lighting equipment: other), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.7 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.7% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 85 (74th percentile of 624 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $270 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 13.0 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 2.7%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8512.10.20 | Lighting equipment | Free |
| 8512.20.20 | Lighting equipment | Free |
| 8512.20.40 | Visual signaling equipment | 2.5% |
| 8512.30.00 | Sound signaling equipment | 2.5% |
| 8512.40.20 | Defrosters and demisters | 2.5% |
| 8512.40.40 | Windshield wipers, defrosters and demisters: windshield wipers | 2.5% |
| 8512.90.20 | Of signaling equipment | 2.5% |
| 8512.90.40 | Of a kind used on bicycles | Free |
| 8512.90.60 | Of lighting equipment: other | Free |
| 8512.90.70 | Of defrosters and demisters | 2.5% |
| 8512.90.90 | Parts: other | 2.5% |