Analysis
HTS 8525.50.10 covers set top boxes which have a communication function under heading 8525 (transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating…).
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 58% of the 624 tariff lines in chapter 85 that are also free. 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 8525.50.30 (television: other, duty-free) and 8525.50.70 (for radiobroadcasting, duty-free).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 334220 (Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing), an industry of 645 US establishments employing 52,536 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
All 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8525.50.30 | Television: other | Free |
| 8525.50.70 | For radiobroadcasting | Free |