Analysis
HTS 9606.30.40 covers button blanks of casein under heading 9606 (buttons, press-fasteners, snap-fasteners and press-studs, button molds and other parts of…).
Rates on the nearby lines range from duty-free to 6%. The costliest confusion would be with 9606.30.80 (button molds and other parts of buttons; button blanks: other) at 6%, a difference of 6 points on the customs value.
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.
There is no general-rate duty on this line, which puts it with roughly 25% of the 104 tariff lines in chapter 96 that are also free. 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, the industry a domestic producer of these goods reports under.
Every edition we compared, from Jan 2023 to Oct 2026 (Rev. 22), shows the same general rate of Free.
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% |
| 9606.22.00 | Of base metal, not covered with textile material | Free |
| 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% |
| 9606.30.80 | Button molds and other parts of buttons; button blanks: other | 6% |