Analysis
HTS 9015.10.40 covers rangefinders: electrical under heading 9015 (surveying (including photogrammetrical surveying), hydrographic, oceanographic…).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 2.8%. The costliest confusion would be with 9015.30.80 (levels: other) at 2.8%, a difference of 2.8 points on the customs value.
Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 40% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 40% duty.
There is no general-rate duty on this line, which puts it with roughly 73% of the 296 tariff lines in chapter 90 that are also free. Duty-free at the general rate does not rule out additional duties under Chapter 99, such as Section 301 or Section 232 measures, which depend on the country of origin.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 334519 (Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing), an industry of 913 US establishments employing 34,818 people, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Every edition we compared, from Jan 2023 to Oct 2026 (Rev. 22), shows the same general rate of Free.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9015.10.80 | Rangefinders: other | Free |
| 9015.20.40 | Theodolites and tachymeters (tacheometers): electrical | Free |
| 9015.20.80 | Theodolites and tachymeters (tacheometers): other | Free |
| 9015.30.40 | Levels: electrical | Free |
| 9015.30.80 | Levels: other | 2.8% |
| 9015.40.40 | Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and appliances: electrical | Free |
| 9015.40.80 | Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and appliances: other | Free |
| 9015.80.20 | Optical instruments and appliances | Free |
| 9015.80.60 | Other: seismographs | Free |
| 9015.80.80 | Other: other | Free |
| 9015.90.01 | Parts and accessories | Free |