Analysis
HTS 9006.59.08 covers hand held: other under heading 9006 (photographic (other than cinematographic) cameras; photographic flashlight apparatus and…).
The general duty rate is 4% of the customs value, which is among the highest the rates in chapter 90 (91st percentile of 296 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $400 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 6.8%. Compared with 9006.59.91 (valued over $10 each), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 4 percentage points.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 4%. 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.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 20%, 5.0 times the general rate.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 33331 (Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing), an industry of 1,731 US establishments employing 80,504 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9006.59.01 | With through-the-lens viewfinder (single lens reflex (SLR)) | Free |
| 9006.59.05 | Hand held: 110 cameras | Free |
| 9006.59.10 | Fixed focus: other | Free |
| 9006.59.12 | Valued not over $10 each | 6.8% |
| 9006.59.15 | Valued over $10 each | Free |
| 9006.59.20 | Cameras of a kind used for preparing printing plates or cylinders | Free |
| 9006.59.40 | Other: fixed focus | 4% |
| 9006.59.60 | Valued not over $10 each | 6.8% |
| 9006.59.91 | Valued over $10 each | Free |