The first column titled “Headings/Subheadings” contains the 4-digit, 6-digit and 8-digit numbers assigned to each class of goods. The 4- and 6-digit provisions are part of the international Harmonized System, while the 8- and 10-digit provisions are unique to the United States. Chapters 98 and 99 are different because the provisions there do not appear in the schedules of other countries.

The 4-digit number is a “heading,” and the 6-digit and 8-digit numbers are “subheadings.”  The legal text of the HTS ends at the 8-digit level, which is where tariff rates are assigned. If the language in the “article description” column is not indented, you’re looking at a heading, regardless of how many zeroes are added after the first 4 digits. The indented provisions under a heading must be narrower in scope than the heading’s text, and the subordinate provisions cannot broaden the meaning of the 4-digit heading’s text. 

The second column is titled “Stat. Suffix” for “Statistical Suffix.”  Some tariff rate lines are subdivided to further narrow classes of products.  This subdivision adds two more digits the end of the 8-digit legal provision’s number. (Note that those digits are zeroes if no such statistical categories have been adopted.)  All products falling within the 10-digit statistical-reporting numbers of a particular 8-digit legal provision receive the same duty rate as the 8-digit provision.

The third column is titled “Article Description.” This column describes the goods falling under each heading, subheading, and statistical-reporting number. These descriptions are broadest in coverage at the 4-digit heading level, and if subheadings or statistical reporting numbers do appear below a heading their combined coverage must equal that of the heading.

The fourth column is titled “Unit of Quantity.”  This is the unit of measure for reporting goods. In some instances, two or three different units must be reported – such as the total number of items and the total weight in kilograms.  The second unit of quantity is frequently used to measure against import regulations (e.g., for determining quotas). 

The final three columns appear together under a superior column titled “Rates of Duty.”  Rates of duty for the subheadings are in column 1-general, column 1-special, and column 2. 

Column 1- general identifies the rates for countries that have trade agreements, generally under the World Trade Organization, or are entitled to most favored nation treatment, known in the United States as normal trade relations (NTR) status.   Almost all countries of the world are eligible to receive these duty rates. 

Countries being given column 1-special duty rates must all be eligible for general or NTR duty rates. Column 1- special identifies lower-than-general or duty-free rates for products under free trade agreements (such as USMCA), preference programs (such as GSP), or statutes. Beside the special rate is a list of all programs eligible for that rate when the items meet particular criteria listed in general notes and when the importer claims it for each shipment.  When an importer fails to claim a special duty rate, or where no special rate of duty is provided for a subheading, the rate of duty in column 1- general applies. 

Rates of duty in column 2 apply to products of countries listed in HTS general note 3(b)—at the time this document was posted these countries are: Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, and Russia.