Ad valorem
A percentage of the customs value. The USITC codes this method directly as “Ad Valorem rate times Value”: a 5% ad valorem rate on 10,000 USD of goods owes 500 USD, full stop.
Import duty
Finding the real US import duty rate for something
No general web page can tell you the duty rate on your specific item, and any page that tries is guessing. The rate lives in one place, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule search at hts.usitc.gov, run by the US International Trade Commission. This page is the lookup itself: how the number is built, how to read the rate columns once you find your item, and the three mathematical forms a rate can take. Our import duty vs tariff page covers the vocabulary; this one covers the tool.
USITC, quotedRead 2026-08-30A real HTS lookup, worked
One number, three columns
The same ten-digit code can carry three different rates depending on where the goods are from.
How the number is built, four to ten digits
The US International Trade Commission states its own role directly: it maintains and publishes the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, a hierarchical structure describing all goods in trade for duty, quota and statistical purposes. The number that results is layered.
| Digits | What it is | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | The international Harmonized System heading and subheading, identical worldwide | The World Customs Organization |
| 1-8 | A unique US rate line, the level a duty rate actually attaches to | USITC |
| 1-10 | A non-legal statistical reporting category, used for US trade data | USITC |
One sentence is worth remembering when reading a code: the duty rate belongs to the 8-digit line. The last two digits refine the statistics an item is counted under; they do not, on their own, change what is owed. Our HS code guide covers the international 6-digit structure in depth for exports; this page is the import side, where the same first six digits lead to a different, longer US number carrying an actual rate.
Three columns, one number
Every HTS line carries up to three separate rates, and which one applies depends entirely on where the goods are from, not on the goods themselves.
| Column | What the USITC states |
|---|---|
| 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.” |
| 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.” |
| Column 2 | “Rates of duty in column 2 apply to products of countries listed in HTS general note 3(b)” — at the time the USITC's page was posted, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea and Russia. |
Read in order, that means most imports from most countries are priced off the General column by default, a narrower set qualify for something cheaper under Special because of a specific trade agreement or program, and a very small list of countries is priced off Column 2 instead, which is frequently the highest of the three.
A real lookup, worked: bicycles
Rather than describe the tool abstractly, here is what it actually returns for one ordinary consumer good, pulled from the HTS search on 2026-08-30.
| Column | Rate |
|---|---|
| General | 11% |
| Special | Free for most free-trade-agreement partners; 5.5% for Japan |
| Column 2 | 30% |
The spread inside one product tells the real story better than any average could. The same bicycle owes 11% of its customs value from a normal-trade-relations country, nothing at all from most free-trade-agreement partners, and 30% if it happened to originate in one of the four Column 2 countries. On a 200 USD bicycle that is the difference between 0 USD and 60 USD of duty, decided entirely by country of origin rather than by the bicycle. A neighboring subheading a few digits away, 8712.00.25 for a lighter bicycle under 16.3 kg, carries a different General rate again, 5.5%, which is why matching the exact subheading to the exact item matters more than matching the general product category.
Three ways a rate is expressed
The rate a column shows is not always a plain percentage. The USITC's own tariff database documents the computation method behind every line with a rate-type code.
Specific
A fixed amount per unit of quantity, coded as “Specific rate times Q1”: a rate of 0.15 USD per kilogram owes 1,500 USD on a 10,000 kg shipment regardless of what that shipment sold for.
Compound
Both at once, coded as a specific component plus an ad valorem component on the same line: a duty stated as “10% plus 0.50 USD per kilogram” charges both parts and adds them together.
Reading a rate column as an automatic percentage is the fastest way to misjudge a duty bill on any specific-rate or compound-rate line. Check which computation method the actual HTS line uses before assuming.
Once you have the rate, the rest is arithmetic
A rate on its own is not a bill. Turning an ad valorem percentage into a dollar figure means applying it to the correct customs value, and adding any tax that stacks on top of duty means applying that tax to duty plus value together, not separately. Our customs fee calculator runs that sequence once you have the rate from hts.usitc.gov in hand; it will not supply the rate itself, for the same reason this page will not print one as a general figure. SMKlog's own checkout prices US domestic parcel labels only and never assesses import duty on anything.
Where these figures come from
- US International Trade Commission, About the Harmonized Tariff Schedule — what the HTS is, who maintains it, and the 4/6/8/10-digit structure. Read 2026-08-30.
- US International Trade Commission, What do all the columns mean? — the General, Special and Column 2 definitions quoted above. Read 2026-08-30.
- US International Trade Commission, Harmonized Tariff Schedule search — the bicycle example, HTS 8712.00.15 and neighboring subheadings. Read 2026-08-30.
- US International Trade Commission, Tariff Database Code Key — the rate-type computation codes for ad valorem, specific and compound duty. Read 2026-08-30.
The HTS is revised on its own schedule, several times a year in some cases, and General Note 3(b)'s country list can change with US foreign policy. Treat the rates above as what hts.usitc.gov returned on the date shown, and re-run the lookup before relying on a number for an actual shipment.
HTS lookup questions
Where do I actually find the US import duty rate for a product?
At hts.usitc.gov, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule search run by the US International Trade Commission. Type a plain-language description or a known code, and it returns candidate ten-digit numbers with the exact rate columns attached to each. No table published anywhere else, including this one, is a substitute for looking a specific item up there.
What do the General, Special and Column 2 rate columns mean?
The USITC defines all three directly. General identifies the rate for countries with normal trade relations status, which almost every country in the world holds. Special identifies a lower or duty-free rate available under a free trade agreement or a preference program like GSP. Column 2, the statutory rate, applies only to products of the handful of countries named in HTS General Note 3(b), currently Belarus, Cuba, North Korea and Russia.
How is the 10-digit US number built from the international 6-digit code?
In layers. The first six digits are the international Harmonized System heading, the same worldwide. The USITC extends that to an 8-digit unique US rate line, the level a duty rate actually attaches to, and then to a 10-digit statistical reporting number used for trade data but not itself a separate rate.
What are the three forms a duty rate can take?
Ad valorem, a percentage of the customs value; specific, a fixed amount per unit of quantity regardless of value; and compound, an ad valorem and a specific component charged together on the same line. The USITC's own tariff database codes each computation method directly, including a code for a pure ad valorem rate and separate codes for the different specific and compound combinations.
Is US import duty generally high or low?
It depends entirely on the item, which is exactly why a single published figure is not useful. A real example: bicycles with both wheels not exceeding 63.5 cm in diameter carry an 11% General rate under HTS 8712.00.15, free for most free-trade-agreement partners, and 30% under Column 2. Many manufactured goods sit in the low single digits; apparel and footwear commonly run far higher. The only way to know a specific item's rate is to look it up.