How to find the right HTS code, and why six digits are not enough.

Every product entering the United States needs a 10-digit code from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The code sets the duty. Get it wrong and you pay too much, or too little, which is worse, because that is the version that ends in penalties.

Most people find their code the same way: type the product name into a search box and take the first result that sounds right. That works until the tariff splits on something the name doesn't tell you.

What the digits mean

Read a code like 6110.12.10.10 from left to right. The first two digits are the chapter (61: knitted clothing). Four digits are the heading (6110: sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts). Six are the subheading, and up to here the code is international. The 8th digit is the US duty line. The last two are for US statistics.

So a supplier in Shenzhen or Ho Chi Minh City can give you the right six digits and still leave you with the wrong duty. The US splits happen after that.

Three splits that catch people

1. What it's made of, exactly. A cashmere sweater sounds like one product. The tariff disagrees.

Code	What it is	Duty
6110.12.10	Wholly of cashmere	4%
6110.12.20	Of cashmere, but not wholly	16%
6110.11.00	Of wool	16%

A 90% cashmere, 10% silk blend is not "wholly of cashmere". The label says cashmere. The duty is four times higher.

2. Knitted or woven. Chapter 61 is knitted clothing, Chapter 62 is woven. A women's cotton blouse that is knitted (6106.10.00) pays 19.7%. The same blouse in woven cotton (6206.30.30) pays 15.4%. Words like poplin, oxford or georgette usually mean woven, but some knitted fabrics are finished to look like them. The answer comes from the fabric, not from the name in the catalogue.

3. Value. Some lines split on price. A leather handbag worth $20 or less is 4202.21.60 at 10%. Over $20 it is 4202.21.90 at 9%. The same bag can change code if your supplier changes the invoice price.

Steel: the question you can't answer from a photo

Flat-rolled steel splits first on the grade. Non-alloy (carbon) steel sits in 7208 to 7212. Stainless, which needs at least 10.5% chromium and no more than 1.2% carbon, is 7219 and 7220. Other alloy steel is 7225 and 7226. Two coils can look identical in a photo. The mill certificate tells them apart.

How to get it right

• Start with facts, not names. Before you look up a code, write down the material (with percentages), how it's made, what it's for, and the unit value.
• Ask the supplier the one question that decides it. Knitted or woven? Wholly cashmere or a blend? Which steel grade? One answer usually settles the code.
• When it's close, ask a licensed customs broker or look for a CBP ruling on a similar product. A ruling on someone else's goods is a strong guide.
• Write down why. If CBP ever asks, "the supplier confirmed it is woven, see email of 3 March" is an answer. "It looked right" is not.