Analysis
HTS 8543.70.98 covers other: other under heading 8543 (electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 3 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 2.6%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 8543.70.97 (plasma cleaner machines that remove organic contaminants from…), at duty-free: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.6 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.6% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 85 (71st percentile of 624 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $260 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 13.5 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 2.6%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8543.70.20 | Physical vapor deposition apparatus | 2.5% |
| 8543.70.42 | Flight data recorders | Free |
| 8543.70.45 | Electric synchros and transducers; flight data recorders; defrosters and demisters with electric resistors for aircraft: other | 2.6% |
| 8543.70.60 | Articles designed for connection to telegraphic or telephonic apparatus or instruments or to telegraphic or telephonic networks | Free |
| 8543.70.71 | Electric luminescent lamps | 2% |
| 8543.70.80 | Microwave amplifiers | Free |
| 8543.70.85 | For electrical nerve stimulation | Free |
| 8543.70.88 | Electrical machines with translation or dictionary functions; video game console controllers which use infrared transmissions to operate or access the various functions and capabilities of the console | Free |
| 8543.70.89 | Other: other portable battery operated electronic readers for recording and reproducing text, still images or audio files | Free |
| 8543.70.91 | Digital signal processing apparatus capable of connecting to a wired or wireless network for the mixing of sound | Free |
| 8543.70.93 | Portable interactive electronic education devices primarily designed for children | Free |
| 8543.70.95 | Touch-sensitive data input devices (so-called "touch screens") without display capabilities, for incorporation into apparatus having a display, which function by detecting the presence and location of a touch within the display area (such sensing may be obtained by means of resistance, electrostatic capacity, acoustic pulse recognition, infra-red lights or other touch-sensitive technology) | Free |
| 8543.70.97 | Plasma cleaner machines that remove organic contaminants from electron microscopy specimens and specimen holders | Free |