Analysis
HTS 9612.10.90 covers ribbons: other under heading 9612 (typewriter or similar ribbons, inked or otherwise prepared for giving impressions…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 3 ten-digit suffixes, reported in dozens and kilograms.
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 3.5%. Compared with 9612.10.10 (measuring less than 30 mm in width, permanently put up in plastic or…), which pays duty-free, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 7.9 percentage points.
Goods that qualify under the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and 10 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 7.9%. 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. Reduced but not zero rates apply under some agreements: 3.95% for JP.
The general duty rate is 7.9% of the customs value, which is above most the rates in chapter 96 (77th percentile of 104 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $790 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 78.5%, 9.9 times the general rate.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9612.10.10 | Measuring less than 30 mm in width, permanently put up in plastic or metal cartridges (whether or not containing spools) of a kind used in typewriters, automatic data processing or other machines | Free |
| 9612.20.00 | Typewriter or similar ribbons, inked or otherwise prepared for giving impressions, whether or not on spools or in cartridges; ink pads, whether or not inked, with or without boxes: ink pads | 3.5% |