Analysis
HTS 8533.40.40 covers metal oxide varistors under heading 8533 (electrical resistors (including rheostats and potentiometers), other than heating…).
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.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 334416 (Capacitor, Resistor, Coil, Transformer, and Other Inductor Manufacturing), an industry of 322 US establishments employing 15,225 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
All 8 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.
The general rate of Free has not changed in any edition of the schedule since Jan 2023.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8533.10.00 | Fixed carbon resistors, composition or film types | Free |
| 8533.21.00 | For a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W | Free |
| 8533.29.00 | Other fixed resistors: other | Free |
| 8533.31.00 | For a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W | Free |
| 8533.39.00 | Wirewound variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers: other | Free |
| 8533.40.80 | Other variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers: other | Free |
| 8533.90.40 | For the goods of subheading 8533.40, of ceramic or metallic materials, electrically or mechanically reactive to changes in temperature | Free |
| 8533.90.80 | Parts: other | Free |