8536.90.60

Analysis

HTS 8536.90.60 covers battery clamps of a kind used in motor vehicles of heading 8702, 8703, 8704 or 8711 under heading 8536 (electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making…).

Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to duty-free. 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.