Global trade glossary

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS / HTSUS)

The U.S. import tariff schedule — a hierarchical list of every good and its duty rate, built on the international Harmonized System and extended to 10 digits for the United States. It is published by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).

Harmonized System (HS) code

The globally standardized 6-digit product classification maintained by the World Customs Organization. Every country builds its national tariff (e.g. the U.S. HTS) on top of the same first six digits, then adds its own subheadings.

Tariff classification

Determining the single correct HTS code for a good. The code drives the duty rate and every trade program that applies, so classification is the foundation of a compliant customs entry — defended with legal notes and CBP rulings, not guesswork.

Duty

A tax a government charges on an imported good, usually a percentage of its customs value (ad valorem) or a per-unit charge (specific). The applicable duty is the sum of the base rate plus any trade-remedy overlays that stack on top.

Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rate

The standard "column 1" duty rate a country applies to imports from its normal trading partners (in U.S. law, Normal Trade Relations). It is the base rate before free-trade-agreement preferences or trade-remedy surcharges are applied.

Landed cost

The total cost to get a good to its destination: product price plus freight, insurance, duties, customs fees, and every stacked tariff. Duty is only one line — an accurate landed cost includes Section 301/232, IEEPA, AD/CVD, and the merchandise-processing and harbor-maintenance fees.

Customs broker

A person or firm licensed by CBP to file customs entries and clear goods on an importer’s behalf. Brokers classify goods, calculate duties, and submit the paperwork that releases a shipment.

Country of origin

Where a good was made — legally, where it was grown, produced, or last "substantially transformed." It determines eligibility for trade-agreement rates and whether country-specific tariffs (such as Section 301 on China) apply.

Section 301 tariffs

Additional duties imposed by the U.S. Trade Representative in response to unfair foreign trade practices — most prominently the tariffs on goods from China. They stack on top of the normal HTS rate via Chapter 99.

Section 232 tariffs

Additional duties imposed on national-security grounds, notably on steel and aluminum. Like Section 301, they are modeled as Chapter 99 overlays that add to a good’s base classification.

IEEPA tariffs

Duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, used to apply country-wide tariffs by executive action. They are another overlay that stacks on the base rate.

Antidumping & countervailing duties (AD/CVD)

Extra duties that offset unfairly low import prices (antidumping) or foreign subsidies (countervailing). They are assessed per producer/exporter under specific orders and can be very large — and are tracked separately from the ordinary tariff, not simply summed into one rate.

Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

A treaty (such as USMCA) that lets qualifying goods enter duty-free or at reduced rates. Goods qualify by meeting the agreement’s rules of origin, which usually depend on where materials come from and how much processing happens in the region.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

The structured list of the components and materials that make up a finished product. A BOM is what makes rules-of-origin and duty analysis possible, because origin and value are decided at the component level, not just for the finished good.

Chapter 99

The section of the HTS that holds temporary, extra duties — Section 301/232, IEEPA, safeguards — that stack on top of a good’s ordinary classification. These overlays are modeled separately because they are added on, not replacements for the base rate.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The federal agency that enforces import law at the border: it collects duties, inspects shipments, issues binding classification rulings, and administers AD/CVD and quota programs.

Customs entry

The formal declaration filed with CBP to import a good — the classification, value, origin, and duties owed. Filing the entry (and paying the calculated duties and fees) is what releases the shipment into commerce.

MoveTogether provides tariff information tools, not legal advice.