9027.90.45

Analysis

HTS 9027.90.45 covers printed circuit assemblies for the goods of subheading 9027.81 or 9027.89 under heading 9027 (instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis (for example, polarimeters…).

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.

The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 73% of the 296 tariff lines in chapter 90, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. 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 334418 (Printed Circuit Assembly (Electronic Assembly) Manufacturing), an industry of 861 US establishments employing 49,932 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.

All 8 neighbouring lines carry the same duty-free rate, so a borderline choice between them changes the statistics reported, not the duty paid.