Trimtabist

The independent observatory for US trade — ship movements, customs records and policy events, measured and tested.

What South Korea actually pays on HS 1904.90

Importers of HS 1904.90 (other) from Korea, South actually paid 10.19% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 10.19% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 14%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 14% → 10.19%, with the largest single step +3.5pp in 2025-09. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 14% — importers actually paid 10.19%, so the trade-war overlay added -3.8 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "1904.90", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

South Korea paid 10.19% on HS 1904.90 — the schedule says 14% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 10.19% HTS base 14% — the rulebook floor2023-072024-122026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 1904.90. The schedule base rate is 14%; importers from South Korea actually paid 10.19% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added -3.8 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved 14% (2023-07) → 10.19% (2026-06), largest single step +3.5pp in 2025-09.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Korea, South's lower duty (10.19% vs 31.5%) lets it price up to 19.3% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $1.47/kg vs $2.72/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from South Korea · the whole tariff ledger · 2 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "1904.90", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What South Korea actually pays on HS 1904.90 (HS 1904.90)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/190490/south-korea