8549.11

Analysis

Subheading 8549.11 covers waste and scrap of lead-acid accumulators; spent lead-acid accumulators, within heading 8549. The first six digits are shared by every country that uses the Harmonized System, so this part of the code is the same in the US, UK and EU schedules; the 2 US tariff lines below it are national.

Every one of its 2 tariff lines is duty-free at the general rate, so classification within the subheading affects statistics and Chapter 99 measures rather than the base duty.

The US splits it as follows: 8549.11.10 for for recovery of lead (duty-free) and 8549.11.90 for waste and scrap of lead-acid accumulators; spent lead-acid… (duty-free).

Goods only reach 8549.11 once they fall within heading 8549 (electrical and electronic waste and scrap). Under General Rule 6, subheadings are then compared only with others at the same level, so a product is matched against its siblings, not against lines elsewhere in the chapter.