Analysis
HTS 9603.90.40 covers other: feather dusters under heading 9603 (brooms, brushes (including brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 32%. Compared with 9603.10.60 (valued over 96¢ each), which pays 32%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 32 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.
The normal trade relations rate here is zero, shared by about 25% of the 104 tariff lines in chapter 96, a useful check when a neighbouring dutiable line is a candidate. Free here means free of the base duty only: origin-specific Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 can still be owed.
Census statistics map these goods to NAICS 339999 (All Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing), an industry of 3,012 US establishments employing 40,510 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
The general rate of Free has not changed in any edition of the schedule since Jan 2023.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9603.10.05 | In any calendar year prior to the entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for comsumption, of 61,655 dozen whiskbrooms classifiable under subheadings 9603.10.05 to 9603.10.35, inclusive | 8% |
| 9603.10.15 | Valued not over 96¢ each: other | 5¢ each |
| 9603.10.35 | Valued over 96¢ each | 14% |
| 9603.10.40 | In any calendar year prior to the entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, of 121,478 dozen brooms classifiable under subheadings 9603.10.40 to 9603.10.60, inclusive | 8% |
| 9603.10.50 | Valued not over 96¢ each: other | 32¢ each |
| 9603.10.60 | Valued over 96¢ each | 32% |
| 9603.10.90 | Brooms and brushes, consisting of twigs or other vegetable materials bound together, with or without handles: other | 10% |
| 9603.21.00 | Toothbrushes, including dental-plate brushes | Free |
| 9603.29.40 | Valued not over 40¢ each | 0.2¢ each + 7% |
| 9603.29.80 | Valued over 40¢ each | 0.3¢ each + 3.6% |
| 9603.30.20 | Valued not over 5¢ each | 2.6% |
| 9603.30.40 | Valued over 5¢ but not over 10¢ each | Free |
| 9603.30.60 | Valued over 10¢ each | Free |
| 9603.40.20 | Paint, distemper, varnish or similar brushes (other than brushes of subheading 9603.30); paint pads and rollers: paint rollers | 7.5% |
| 9603.40.40 | Paint, distemper, varnish or similar brushes (other than brushes of subheading 9603.30); paint pads and rollers: other | 4% |
| 9603.50.00 | Brooms, brushes (including brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicles), hand-operated mechanical floor sweepers, not motorized, mops and feather dusters; prepared knots and tufts for broom or brush making; paint pads and rollers; squeegees (other than roller squeegees): other brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicles | Free |
| 9603.90.80 | Other: other | 2.8% |