Analysis
HTS 9602.00.10 covers worked unhardened gelatin and articles thereof under heading 9602 (worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of these materials; molded or…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in thousands.
Neighbouring lines carry rates from 1.8% to 2.7%, so the exact line matters. The widest gap is with 9602.00.40 (molded or carved articles of wax), at 1.8%: a product that belongs there but is entered here, or the reverse, changes the duty by 1.2 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 3% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 96 (39th percentile of 104 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $300 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
For statistics it divides in two: 9602.00.10.40 for unfilled gelatin capsules and 9602.00.10.80 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
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%. 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 25%, 8.3 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9602.00.40 | Molded or carved articles of wax | 1.8% |
| 9602.00.50 | Worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of these materials; molded or carved articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins, of modeling pastes, and other molded or carved articles, not elsewhere specified or included; worked, unhardened gelatin (except gelatin of heading 3503) and articles of unhardened gelatin: other | 2.7% |