Analysis
HTS 8536.50.40 covers other switches: motor starters under heading 8536 (electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making…).
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 8536.50.70 (electronic AC switches consisting of optically coupled…, duty-free) and 8536.50.90 (other: other, duty-free).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 335314 (Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing), an industry of 704 US establishments employing 33,267 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |