Trimtabist

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

What South Korea actually pays on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (abs) copolymers

Importers of HS 3903.30 (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (abs) copolymers) from Korea, South actually paid 10.45% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 10.45% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 6.5%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 6.5% → 10.45%, with the largest single step -3.6pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 6.5% — importers actually paid 10.45%, so the trade-war overlay added 3.9 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "3903.30", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

South Korea paid 10.45% on HS 3903.30 — the schedule says 6.5% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 10.45% HTS base 6.5% — the rulebook floor2023-072024-122026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 3903.30. The schedule base rate is 6.5%; importers from South Korea actually paid 10.45% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 3.9 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved 6.5% (2023-07) → 10.45% (2026-06), largest single step -3.6pp in 2026-03.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Korea, South's lower duty (10.45% vs 41.47%) lets it price up to 28.1% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, Korea, South actually lands cheaper — $2.19/kg vs $3.62/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from South Korea · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "3903.30", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What South Korea actually pays on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (abs) copolymers (HS 3903.30)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/390330/south-korea