Analysis
HTS 8536.49.00 covers relays: other under heading 8536 (electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 5 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 2.7%. Compared with 8536.90.85 (other apparatus: other), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves 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 Automotive Products Trade Act, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, and 13 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.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8536.10.00 | Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders and other connectors, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V; connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables: fuses | 2.7% |
| 8536.20.00 | Automatic circuit breakers | 2.7% |
| 8536.30.40 | Motor overload protectors | Free |
| 8536.30.80 | Other apparatus for protecting electrical circuits: other | Free |
| 8536.41.00 | For a voltage not exceeding 60 V | 2.7% |
| 8536.50.40 | Other switches: motor starters | Free |
| 8536.50.70 | Electronic AC switches consisting of optically coupled input and output circuits (insulated thyristor AC switches); electronic switches, including temperature protected switches, consisting of a transistor and a logic chip (chip-on-chip technology); electromechanical snap-action switches for a current not exceeding 11 amps | Free |
| 8536.50.90 | Other: other | Free |
| 8536.61.00 | Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets: lamp-holders | 2.7% |
| 8536.69.40 | Coaxial connectors; cylindrical multicontact connectors; rack and panel connectors; printed circuit connectors; ribbon or flat cable connectors | Free |
| 8536.69.80 | Other: other | 2.7% |
| 8536.70.00 | Connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables | Free |
| 8536.90.40 | Terminals, electrical splices and electrical couplings; wafer probers | Free |
| 8536.90.60 | Battery clamps of a kind used in motor vehicles of heading 8702, 8703, 8704 or 8711 | 2.7% |
| 8536.90.85 | Other apparatus: other | Free |