Last updated 7 November 2026 · every figure recomputed from the sources listed at the foot of this page
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles: The 10-Heading 9903.74 Ladder
A truck does not have one tariff rate. It has a base rate from chapter 87, and then it has whichever of the 10 headings in the 9903.74 family its origin, its content and its use select. Three of those headings add 25 percent, one adds 25 percent to the value of the non-U.S. content only, and five restate the base duty. This page prints all 10, the chapter 87 lines they stack on, and the content test that decides which one applies.
The structure: 10 headings, three jobs
U.S. note 38(a) says it plainly, and the sentence is worth reading as printed:
“headings 9903.74.01 and 9903.74.02 provide the ordinary customs duty treatment of medium- and heavy- duty vehicles of all countries”
So 9903.74.01, 9903.74.08, 9903.74.09 are the general treatment for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and their parts, and everything else in the family is an exception to one of them. That is the same architecture as the Section 232 metal ladder: one general heading, then a list of carve-outs that each require a fact the base schedule does not contain. Of the 10 headings, 3 add 25 percent, 5 restate the base duty, and one — 9903.74.03 — does something different.
This table is wider than the screen: scroll it sideways to reach every column.
| HTS heading | General rate | Scope as printed (abridged) |
|---|---|---|
| 9903.74.01 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 25% | Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles as provided for in subdivision (b) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.02 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 10% | Buses and other vehicles classified in HTSUS heading 8702 as provided for in subdivision (c) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.03 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading + a duty of 25% upon the value of the non-U.S. content | Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as provided for in subdivision (d) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.05 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading | Articles as provided for in subdivision (e) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.06 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading | Articles as provided for in subdivision (f) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.07 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading | Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as provided for in subdivision (g) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.08 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 25% | Medium- and heavy-duty vehicle parts, as provided for in subdivision (i) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.09 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 25% | Medium- and heavy-duty vehicle parts, as provided for in subdivision (j) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
| 9903.74.10 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading | Articles as provided for in subdivision (k) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter |
| 9903.74.11 | The duty provided in the applicable subheading | Articles as provided for in subdivision (l) of U.S. note 38 to this subchapter. |
Source: USITC (United States International Trade Commission) · checked .
The heading that taxes content, not value
Most Chapter 99 headings are ad valorem: they apply a percentage to the customs value. 9903.74.03 is not. Its general column reads:
“The duty provided in the applicable subheading + a duty of 25% upon the value of the non-U.S. content”
Read it twice. The duty is 25 percent, but the base it applies to is the value of the non-U.S. content, not the value of the vehicle. A truck assembled in the United States from mostly domestic parts therefore pays 25 percent of a small number, while an identical truck with the same invoice value assembled from imported kits pays 25 percent of a much larger one. Two shipments with the same HS code, the same value and the same origin can owe different duty, and the only thing that separates them is a cost breakdown the importer has to be able to produce.
This is the single most consequential thing on the page, because it changes what evidence you need before you ship. An ad valorem heading needs an invoice. A content-based heading needs a bill of materials with values attached, and the burden of proving the split sits with the importer.
The base rates the ladder stacks on
Chapter 87 is not uniform, and the difference matters more than the overlay in some lanes. Goods vehicles under heading 8704 split cleanly: 12 of the 15 rated lines already print 25 percent in the general column, and only 3 print something else.
This table is wider than the screen: scroll it sideways to reach every column.
| HTS line | General rate | Description (abridged) |
|---|---|---|
| 8704.10.10.00 | Free | Cab chassis |
| 8704.10.50 | Free | Other |
| 8704.21.01.00 | 25% | G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.22.11 | 4% | Cab chassis |
| 8704.22.51 | 25% | Other |
| 8704.23.01.00 | 25% | G.V.W. exceeding 20 metric tons |
| 8704.31.01 | 25% | G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.32.01 | 25% | G.V.W. exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.41.00.00 | 25% | G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.42.00 | 25% | G.V.W. exceeding 5 metric tons but not exceeding 20 metric tons |
| 8704.43.00.00 | 25% | G.V.W. exceeding 20 metric tons |
| 8704.51.00 | 25% | G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.52.00 | 25% | G.V.W. exceeding 5 metric tons |
| 8704.60.00.00 | 25% | Other, with only electric motor for propulsion |
| 8704.90.01.00 | 25% | Other |
Source: USITC · checked .
The lines that print 25 percent are not a Section 232 artefact — that is the base rate the schedule prints for those vehicles, and the overlay stacks on top of it. The exceptions are the off-highway dumpers at 8704.10, which print Free, and the cab chassis line 8704.22.11 at 4 percent. A cab chassis is the frame, engine and cab without the cargo body; that distinction is worth twenty-one percentage points before any overlay applies.
Buses are the cheapest thing in the family
Heading 8702 covers vehicles for ten or more persons. Every one of its 10 rated lines prints the same general rate: 2%. That is not a typo and not a Section 232 carve-out — buses simply carry a low base rate, and heading 9903.74.02 is the one place in the family that adds 10 percent rather than 25. A bus and a box truck of similar value therefore leave the same port at very different duty costs, and the reason is the heading, not the origin.
Parts: where most of the line count is
Heading 8708 is where the volume of classification work sits — 85 rated lines, of which 39 print 2.5 percent and 46 print Free. The free lines are almost all agricultural-tractor parts, which the schedule treats separately throughout the heading.
This table is wider than the screen: scroll it sideways to reach every column.
| HTS line | General rate | Description (abridged) |
|---|---|---|
| 8708.10.30 | 2.5% | Bumpers |
| 8708.10.60 | 2.5% | Parts of bumpers |
| 8708.21.00.00 | 2.5% | Safety seat belts |
| 8708.22.00.00 | 2.5% | Front windscreens (windshields), rear windows and other windows specified ... |
| 8708.29.15.00 | 2.5% | Door assemblies |
| 8708.29.21 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.29.25.00 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.29.51 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.30.10 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.30.50 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.40.11 | 2.5% | For vehicles of subheading 8701.21, 8701.22, 8701.23, 8701.24 or 8701.29 or ... |
| 8708.40.30.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.40.50.00 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.40.60.00 | Free | Of tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.40.65.00 | Free | Of other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.40.70.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.40.75 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.50.11 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.50.31 | Free | For other tractors |
| 8708.50.51 | 2.5% | For vehicles of heading 8703 |
| 8708.50.61.00 | 2.5% | Drive axles with differential, whether or not provided with other ... |
| 8708.50.65.00 | 2.5% | Non-driving axles |
| 8708.50.70.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.50.75.00 | Free | For other tractors |
| 8708.50.79.00 | 2.5% | Parts of non-driving axles |
| 8708.50.81.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.50.85.00 | 2.5% | Half-shafts |
| 8708.50.89.00 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.50.91 | 2.5% | Parts of non-driving axles |
| 8708.50.93.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.50.95.00 | 2.5% | Half-shafts |
| 8708.50.99.00 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.70.05.00 | Free | Road wheels |
| 8708.70.15.00 | Free | Parts and accessories |
| 8708.70.25.00 | Free | Road wheels |
| 8708.70.35.00 | Free | Parts and accessories |
| 8708.70.45 | 2.5% | Road wheels |
| 8708.70.60 | 2.5% | Parts and accessories |
| 8708.80.03.00 | Free | McPherson struts |
| 8708.80.05.00 | Free | Other |
| 8708.80.13.00 | 2.5% | McPherson struts |
| 8708.80.16 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.80.51.00 | Free | Of tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.80.55.00 | Free | Of other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.80.60.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.80.65 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.91.10.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.91.50.00 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.91.60.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.91.65.00 | Free | For other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.91.70.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.91.75 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.92.10.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.92.50.00 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.92.60.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.92.65.00 | Free | For other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.92.70.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.92.75.00 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.93.15.00 | Free | Clutches |
| 8708.93.30.00 | Free | Other |
| 8708.93.60.00 | 2.5% | Clutches |
| 8708.93.75.00 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.94.10.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.94.50.00 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.94.60.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.94.65.00 | Free | For other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.94.70.00 | Free | Of cast iron |
| 8708.94.75 | 2.5% | Other |
| 8708.95.05.00 | 2.5% | Inflaters and modules for airbags |
| 8708.95.10.00 | Free | For tractors suitable for agricultural use |
| 8708.95.15.00 | Free | For other tractors (except road tractors) |
| 8708.95.20.00 | 2.5% | For other vehicles |
| 8708.99.03.00 | Free | Vibration control goods containing rubber |
| 8708.99.06.00 | Free | Double flanged wheel hub units incorporating ball bearings |
| 8708.99.16.00 | Free | Other parts for power trains |
| 8708.99.23.00 | Free | Other |
| 8708.99.27.00 | Free | Vibration control goods containing rubber |
| 8708.99.31.00 | Free | Double flanged wheel hub units incorporating ball bearings |
| 8708.99.41.00 | Free | Other parts for power trains |
| 8708.99.48 | Free | Other |
| 8708.99.53.00 | Free | Of cast-iron |
| 8708.99.55.00 | 2.5% | Vibration control goods containing rubber |
| 8708.99.58.00 | 2.5% | Double flanged wheel hub units incorporating ball bearings |
| 8708.99.68 | 2.5% | Other parts for power trains |
| 8708.99.81 | 2.5% | Other |
Source: USITC · checked .
Two overlay headings in the family reach these parts, and because the base rates here are 2.5 percent or Free rather than 25, the overlay is the entire duty on a covered part. A gearbox at 2.5 percent becomes a gearbox at 27.5 percent; the base rate is a rounding error next to the additional duty.
How to work out which heading applies
Four questions, in this order, because each one can end the analysis.
One: what is it? A complete vehicle, a cab chassis, or a part. The family treats these differently and the base rates differ by an order of magnitude.
Two: where was it made? The carve-out headings 9903.74.05, 9903.74.06, 9903.74.07, 9903.74.10, 9903.74.11 exist for particular origins and trade-programme positions. If one of them fits, the additional duty is zero and you stop.
Three: is it a USMCA entry? The note's later subdivisions route qualifying USMCA entries to specific headings in the family. A vehicle that qualifies does not simply pay the general rate; it pays whichever heading the note sends it to.
Four: if it lands on 9903.74.03, what is the non-U.S. content value? That is the number the duty is computed on, and it is the one number in the whole exercise that the invoice will not give you.
What this page does not tell you
Three limits, stated so they are not mistaken for gaps in the data. The chapter 87 rates printed here are the general column only; the special column carries the FTA rates and is a separate column in the schedule. The overlay headings are printed as the export prints them, with the scope abridged in the table; the full scope is the note text, and a scope that turns on a subdivision letter cannot be settled from a table row. And the note this family points at has been amended repeatedly — the headings carry dates in their own text, so a table built from one snapshot is a starting point, not a standing answer.
What the page does establish is the shape: 10 headings, one of which taxes a content fraction rather than a value, sitting on top of base rates that range from Free to 25 percent. Anyone quoting a single number for “the truck tariff” is quoting one cell of this table.
Frequently asked questions
- How many headings are in the 9903.74 family?
- 10. Three add 25 percent (9903.74.01, 9903.74.08, 9903.74.09), five restate the base duty (9903.74.05, 9903.74.06, 9903.74.07, 9903.74.10, 9903.74.11), one adds 10 percent, and one — 9903.74.03 — applies 25 percent to the value of the non-U.S. content rather than to the value of the vehicle.
- What does a 25% duty on non-U.S. content mean?
- Under heading 9903.74.03 the 25 percent is computed on the value of the non-U.S. content of the vehicle, not on its customs value. Two vehicles with the same invoice value can owe different duty depending on how much of their content is foreign, which is why a bill of materials with values is the document that decides the entry.
- What are the base rates for trucks under heading 8704?
- 12 of the 15 rated lines print 25 percent in the general column, including 8704.31.01 and 8704.32.01. The exceptions are the off-highway dumpers at 8704.10, which print Free, and cab chassis 8704.22.11 at 4 percent.
- Why do buses pay less than trucks?
- Every rated line under heading 8702 prints 2% in the general column, and heading 9903.74.02 is the one heading in the family that adds 10 percent rather than 25. The gap comes from the heading, not from origin or from a Section 232 carve-out.
- What are the rates on vehicle parts under heading 8708?
- 85 rated lines: 39 print 2.5 percent and 46 print Free, mostly agricultural-tractor parts. Because the base is so low, the overlay is effectively the whole duty on a covered part.
- Do USMCA-qualifying vehicles pay the general rate?
- No. The note routes qualifying USMCA entries to specific headings inside the family rather than letting them take the general heading, so the rate depends on which heading the note sends the entry to. The export prints those headings with their own rates.
Sources
- USITC — Chapter 87 REST export (8702 buses, 8704 goods vehicles, 8708 parts) (read 2026-11-07T00:34:54Z, sha256 5ad1e5b5a75f85d0…)
- USITC (United States International Trade Commission) — Chapter 99 REST export re-read by this task; 3,350 rows. Byte-identical to the copy batch 1 read on 2026-11-06 (read 2026-11-07T00:34:48Z, sha256 e55de042e0cb6b67…)
Every figure above is recomputed from the datasets listed here at render time; the dataset vintage and each source's check timestamp are printed with it. This page extends the prototype that already earns search traffic on the same mechanism. Rates are informational, not a binding customs determination: confirm the classification and the entry with CBP before shipping.