Analysis
HTS 8519.81.20 covers designed exclusively for motor- vehicle installation under heading 8519 (sound recording or reproducing apparatus).
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 58% of the 624 tariff lines in chapter 85, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
The other lines in the same group are 8519.81.10 (transcribing machines, duty-free), 8519.81.25 (cassette-type tape players: other, duty-free), 8519.81.30 (sound reproducing only: other, duty-free) and 8519.81.41 (using magnetic, optical or semiconductor media: other, duty-free).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 334310 (Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing), an industry of 539 US establishments employing 10,977 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
All 4 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8519.81.10 | Transcribing machines | Free |
| 8519.81.25 | Cassette-type tape players: other | Free |
| 8519.81.30 | Sound reproducing only: other | Free |
| 8519.81.41 | Using magnetic, optical or semiconductor media: other | Free |