Analysis
HTS 9606.22.00 covers of base metal, not covered with textile material under heading 9606 (buttons, press-fasteners, snap-fasteners and press-studs, button molds and other parts of…).
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 6%. Compared with 9606.30.80 (button molds and other parts of buttons; button blanks: other), which pays 6%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 6 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 339993 (Fastener, Button, Needle, and Pin Manufacturing), an industry of 89 US establishments employing 3,341 people. That concordance is how imports of this line are compared with US output.
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9606.10.40 | Valued not over 20¢ per dozen pieces or parts | 3.5% |
| 9606.10.80 | Valued over 20¢ per dozen pieces or parts | 2.7% |
| 9606.21.20 | Of plastics, not covered with textile material: of casein | Free |
| 9606.21.40 | Of acrylic resin, of polyester resin or of both such resins | 0.3¢/line/ gross + 4.6% |
| 9606.21.60 | Of plastics, not covered with textile material: other | 4.7% |
| 9606.29.20 | Of acrylic resin, of polyester resin or of both such resins, covered with textile material | 0.3¢/line/ gross + 4.5% |
| 9606.29.40 | Other: of pearl or shell | 0.18¢/line/ gross + 2.5% |
| 9606.29.60 | Other: other | 2.9% |
| 9606.30.40 | Button blanks of casein | Free |
| 9606.30.80 | Button molds and other parts of buttons; button blanks: other | 6% |