HTS Code 85256011 and import tariffs on radio equipment?

[Lscott]

Has anyone done any research on what the new tariffs will be on imports for two-way radio equipment? The "de minimis" $800 exception on imports is set to end on 8/29/2025. 

The import code for radio/TV/Sound equipment seems to be HTS Code 85256011.

However I can't seem to find any up to date reliable info on what the tariffs are. In fact some sites claim there is an exception, zero tax. Since this seems to change almost daily it's hard to track down any info that is usable.

If there is an exception then it going to be business as usual. Otherwise might have to change "CCR", cheap Chinese radios, to "ECR", expensive Chinese radios. 

[WRCR724]

2 hours ago, Lscott said:

Has anyone done any research on what the new tariffs will be on imports for two-way radio equipment? The "de minimis" $800 exception on imports is set to end on 8/29/2025. 

The import code for radio/TV/Sound equipment seems to be HTS Code 85256011.

However I can't seem to find any up to date reliable info on what the tariffs are. In fact some sites claim there is an exception, zero tax. Since this seems to change almost daily it's hard to track down any info that is usable.

If there is an exception then it going to be business as usual. Otherwise might have to change "CCR", cheap Chinese radios, to "ECR", expensive Chinese radios. 

I didn't find 85256011 but I found 85256010 and it looks like currently it's 35%.

From here: https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=8525

[WRCR724]

And from what I can find, the de minimis exemption for China and Hong Kong ended on May 2 of this year. The CCR  seem to still be cheap. 

[Lscott]

3 minutes ago, WRCR724 said:

And from what I can find, the de minimis exemption for China and Hong Kong ended on May 2 of this year. The CCR  seem to still be cheap. 

I thought it was back again? 

The majority of the Kenwood commercial radios I have were manufactured in either Malaysia or Singapore. My understanding is the country of manufacture determines the tariff taxes.

The other question is how does this all apply to used radios? Does customs still consider the country of manufacture or the country where it's being exported from if the tariffs apply? 

I just got, a few days ago, a used Kenwood TK-3701D dPMR446 radio from the UK for example. I'm thinking about MAYBE buying a second one so I have at least two that can communicate on FM/Digital modes on the Ham 70cm band for experimenting. The seller,on the UK eBay site,has a couple left for about $122 at the current exchange rate plus about another $33 for eBay international shipping, then there is the Michigan 6% sales tax on top of the $122. If the cost goes up another 10% to 15% because of import tariff taxes that's going to be an expensive radio. Bugger is nobody seems to sell these used radios here so buying internationally is about the only option. 

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/640-tk-3701djpg/?context=new

This business is getting confusing to keep up with. 

[WRCR724]

What did you think was back again? The tariff exemption? 

 

Yes, the country of origin determines the amount of taxes/duties/tariffs, etc. It's also based on the value that the shipper puts on the commercial invoice prior to exporting the item. If they classify it as a just a transceiver and put the value at $10 that will raise flags with customs. They will assume it's a brand new transceiver. But if they were to put classify it as a transceiver and add a note like "Item sold for parts only. Value for customs purposes only." They can get away with a smaller amount than the actual price of the radio. But they should still be using a reasonable amount for the value of the parts. This applies to new and used items. 

If they note that it's being exported to the US for repairs only, customs will be looking for that same item to be re-exported from the US back to wherever it came from. You have a certain amount of time to repair and return it. I deal with this almost daily as part of my job. 

Even if they note on the commercial invoice that it's a gift, the correct value is still required to be entered. 

I used to work at a place where we had people in from Brazil. Their taxes/tariffs are out of this world. One of the first things they would do when they got here was to head down the road to Best Buy and load up on electronics and video games. They would have to unbox everything and make it looked a little bit used so that they could declare the items as personal effects. They could claim they left Brazil with them and are now just returning with the same items. Several of those guys were making some serious money selling their personal effects upon return to Brazil.