9015.20.80

Analysis

HTS 9015.20.80 covers theodolites and tachymeters (tacheometers): other under heading 9015 (surveying (including photogrammetrical surveying), hydrographic, oceanographic…).

Neighbouring lines carry rates from duty-free to 2.8%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 9015.30.80 (levels: other), at 2.8%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.8 percentage points.

Goods from countries without normal trade relations pay the column 2 rate of 45% instead of nothing, so origin decides between free entry and a 45% duty.

Goods classified here enter the United States duty-free at the general (normal trade relations) rate, as do about 73% of the 296 tariff lines in chapter 90. 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. That is the industry code a US manufacturer of the same product would normally use.