Category Tariffs & Customs

The tariff code picks the rate; valuation picks the number it multiplies. US valuation runs on transaction value plus statutory additions — assists, royalties, packing, selling commissions — and its dutiable value is FOB-based: international freight and insurance stay out, the exact opposite of Taiwan's CIF basis. The add-back checklist, the related-party arm's length test, and the Prior Disclosure escape hatch.

AD/CVD duties stack on top of the regular tariff and can single-handedly unmake a business case — and Taiwan has precedent: corrosion-resistant steel carried steep antidumping rates, chemicals have faced investigations. The three-step pre-shipment check (classify, check current orders, Scope Ruling when in doubt), why released goods can still owe retroactive duties, and why third-country routing is EAPA's textbook target.

Section 301 taxes country of origin, not the port on the bill of lading — and origin only changes through substantial transformation: a product different in name, character and use. What stands and what does not, how CBP's EAPA and Taiwan Customs enforce from both ends, why the burden of proof sits on the importer, and the four-document pack that proves genuine Taiwan origin.

Classification is a legal determination under the GRI, applied in order — not a menu where you pick the lower rate. The ten-digit HTSUS carries the duty rate, Section 301 exposure and AD/CVD scope all at once. The three recurring exporter mistakes, the true cost of misclassification, and how a CBP Binding Ruling locks in the answer before shipping.