Analysis
HTS 9405.29.40 covers of base metal: of brass under heading 9405 (luminaires and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from 3.9% to 6%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 9405.29.60 (of base metal: other), at 6%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 2.3 percentage points.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 40%, 10.8 times the general rate.
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 3.7%. 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 general duty rate is 3.7% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 94 (61st percentile of 110 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $370 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
For statistics it divides in two: 9405.29.40.10 for household and 9405.29.40.20 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9405.29.60 | Of base metal: other | 6% |
| 9405.29.80 | Other: other | 3.9% |