Analysis
HTS 8544.42.10 covers fitted with modular telephone connectors under heading 8544 (insulated (including enameled or anodized) wire, cable (including coaxial cable) and…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 2.6%. Compared with 8544.42.90 (other: other), which pays 2.6%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 2.6 percentage points.
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.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 58% of the 624 tariff lines in chapter 85, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. 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 8544.42.20 (of a kind used for telecommunications, duty-free) and 8544.42.90 (other: other, 2.6%).
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 335929 (Other Communication and Energy Wire Manufacturing), an industry of 212 US establishments employing 15,936 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8544.42.20 | Of a kind used for telecommunications | Free |
| 8544.42.90 | Other: other | 2.6% |