How do I find the duty rate once I have the HS code?

Take the six-digit international HS stem to the US schedule, confirm the eight-digit subheading, then resolve the full ten-digit line: that final line is where the General, Special and Column 2 rates live. Our free lookup resolves all 23,193 ten-digit lines instantly - paste the code, read the three columns.

Why does the same HS code show different rates for different countries?

The code itself carries one statutory General rate; what changes by country is which column applies. FTA-partner goods can claim the Special column (often Free), non-NTR countries face the punitive Column 2 ceiling, and China-origin goods additionally carry Chapter 99 actions such as the flat 25% Section 301 surcharge on 7,045 mapped lines. Origin, not the code, picks the column.

Where do I check if my HS code also carries antidumping duties?

After resolving the base rate, screen the code against the AD/CVD case database - remedy orders attach to specific products and producers on top of any tariff. ExportSonar's AD/CVD lookup covers 211 recent cases across 33 countries, and the calculator flags stacked Chapter 99 layers automatically when you enter your HTS line and origin.

Is the HS code alone enough to price my import?

No - three more inputs decide the dollar figure: customs value (transaction value plus additions like assists and royalties), origin country (which selects Special eligibility and remedy exposure), and quantity fields whenever the rate carries a per-unit leg. On compound lines such as 46.3 cents per kilogram plus 14.9%, omitting the weight makes the percentage meaningless. The fee floor applies too: MPF minimum $34.58 and HMF 0.125% on ocean entries.

Home / Guides / Duty Rate Search Walkthrough

Duty Rate Search by HS Code: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Every figure below is recomputed at generation time from ExportSonar's machine-readable copy of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (23,193 lines, USITC export generated 2026-10-19) and our Chapter 99 extract.

"What's the duty on product X?" is really five questions wearing a trench coat: which exact code applies, which of the three rate columns governs your shipment, whether a preference program reduces it, whether a trade remedy stacks on top, and how the fee floor changes the total. This walkthrough runs all five in order, with tools linked at each step so you can execute, not just read.

Step 1: Resolve the code down to ten digits

A duty-rate search fails most often because it starts from a six-digit HS stem - the rate lives on the ten-digit national line. The first six digits are internationally harmonized; digits seven and eight are the US subheading; the last two are statistical suffixes that split the line for trade-data purposes. Roasted coffee illustrates the trap: heading 0901 contains 35 lines, and the eight-digit family 0901.21.00 (not decaffeinated) reads Free in the General column - but the deeper you descend, the more precisely the schedule describes what may enter under that rate. If you cannot name your ten-digit line confidently, start from the HS code browser: keyword-search returns candidate codes ranked by description match, and each candidate links its ruling history.

Step 2: Read all three rate columns

Every line publishes three numbers, and quoting only the first is the second-most-common error:

Column	Meaning	Example: 6109.10.00.12 (cotton knit T-shirts)
General	The MFN statutory rate	16.5%
Special	Preference-program rates (FTA partners, CBERA...)	Free for 14 partner programs
Column 2	Statutory non-NTR ceiling	90%

Values resolved from data/hts.json at generation time.

The spread matters commercially: 16.5% versus Free versus 90% is the difference between three entirely different sourcing strategies for the same shirt. Our rate-type explainer covers how these columns interact with specific and compound formats.

Step 3: Test preference eligibility before claiming it

The Special column is a menu, not an entitlement. Each program symbol hides behind rules-of-origin thresholds, direct-shipment requirements and certificate paperwork; claiming Free without eligibility converts a discount into an assessment risk with penalties. Two checks take minutes: run the code-plus-country pair through the FTA eligibility checker, and keep the origin documentation in the entry file. Note that preference claims clear only the base-schedule layer - they never waive Chapter 99 add-ons such as the Section 301 action.

Step 4: Screen Chapter 99 measures and remedies

Base rate plus preference still is not the effective rate. Chapter 99 provisions stack on top: the China Section 301 action maps 7,045 eight-digit lines at exactly 25.0%, safeguard and national-security provisions occupy their own headings, and antidumping/countervailing orders attach to specific producers rather than tariff lines. The screening order that mirrors CBP's own liquidation logic: base column first, then Chapter 99 scope tests by eight-digit stem, then AD/CVD case coverage by producer and product scope. Our AD/CVD lookup and the calculator's stacked estimate close this loop in one pass.

Step 5: Convert percentages to dollars - including the fee floor

Ad-valorem arithmetic is trivial once every layer is known; the honest gaps are compound legs and fees. A line reading "46.3¢/kg + 14.9%" needs declared quantity and value simultaneously. And two user fees apply regardless of duty: the Merchandise Processing Fee (0.3464%, FY2027 minimum $34.58) and Harbor Maintenance Fee (0.125%, ocean entries). On a $3,000 formal entry of Free merchandise (above the $2,500 formal-entry threshold where MPF applies), the fee floor alone costs about $45 - and 5,952 lines that are Free today still carry positive Column 2 ceilings, which is why origin contingencies belong in any serious landed-cost model. Price the complete stack in the landed-cost calculator.

A five-minute worked search

Paste 6109.10.00.12 into the lookup → General 16.5%, Special Free (14 programs), Column 2 90%.
Origin = Korea, KORUS certificate in hand → Special column Free applies.
Chapter 61 carries no Section 301 mapping in the current extract → no 301 layer.
$10,000 declared value, ocean entry → $0 duty + $34.64 MPF + $12.50 HMF.
Cross-check the suffix against your merchandise description - the statistical-suffix guide explains why the last two digits decide filing accuracy.
For China-origin or remedy-exposed lines, re-run with the full stack and compare against our stacked-tariff walkthrough.
Log code, date, figures - the worksheet that keeps a self-made classification defensible.

No code at all? Search by what the product is, not what it does

Half of failed rate searches start one step earlier: the importer has a product, not a code. The schedule indexes by objective characteristics - material composition, construction, function in that order of priority under the General Rules of Interpretation - so describe the item the way a customs engineer would. "Stainless steel double-wall vacuum flask with a lid" beats "premium coffee tumbler": the first maps toward insulated-vessel headings, the second toward nothing in particular. Keyword search across all 23,193 line descriptions surfaces candidate headings; chapter notes then eliminate most of them; ruling precedents settle the remainder. Budget fifteen minutes for this step on an unfamiliar product - it is the highest-leverage quarter hour in the whole duty-rate search.

Three search habits that produce wrong numbers

Trusting the first result. Search engines happily return retail calculators quoting stale vintages or foreign schedules. Anchor every quote to the current USITC extract date.
Ignoring unit-of-quantity fields. Lines carrying cents-per-kilogram or cents-per-dozen legs need your declared quantity; ignoring the field silently converts a compound rate into its percentage component only.
Pricing before remedies screening. A perfect base-rate lookup still misses the 25% Section 301 layer or a 100%+ antidumping margin that actually governs the entry. Screen Chapter 99 every time origin or scope facts change.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the duty rate once I have the HS code?: Take the six-digit international HS stem to the US schedule, confirm the eight-digit subheading, then resolve the full ten-digit line: that final line is where the General, Special and Column 2 rates live. Our free lookup resolves all 23,193 ten-digit lines instantly - paste the code, read the three columns.
Why does the same HS code show different rates for different countries?: The code itself carries one statutory General rate; what changes by country is which column applies. FTA-partner goods can claim the Special column (often Free), non-NTR countries face the punitive Column 2 ceiling, and China-origin goods additionally carry Chapter 99 actions such as the flat 25% Section 301 surcharge on 7,045 mapped lines. Origin, not the code, picks the column.
Where do I check if my HS code also carries antidumping duties?: After resolving the base rate, screen the code against the AD/CVD case database - remedy orders attach to specific products and producers on top of any tariff. ExportSonar's AD/CVD lookup covers 211 recent cases across 33 countries, and the calculator flags stacked Chapter 99 layers automatically when you enter your HTS line and origin.
Is the HS code alone enough to price my import?: No - three more inputs decide the dollar figure: customs value (transaction value plus additions like assists and royalties), origin country (which selects Special eligibility and remedy exposure), and quantity fields whenever the rate carries a per-unit leg. On compound lines such as 46.3 cents per kilogram plus 14.9%, omitting the weight makes the percentage meaningless. The fee floor applies too: MPF minimum $34.58 and HMF 0.125% on ocean entries.