Trimtabist

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

What Vietnam actually pays on of polyesters

Importers of HS 5503.20 (of polyesters) from Vietnam actually paid 14.3% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 14.3% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 4.3%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 4.3% → 14.3%, with the largest single step -6.3pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 4.3% — importers actually paid 14.3%, so the trade-war overlay added 10 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "5503.20", origin: "Vietnam") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

Vietnam paid 14.3% on HS 5503.20 — the schedule says 4.3% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 14.3% HTS base 4.3% — the rulebook floor2023-072024-122026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 5503.20. The schedule base rate is 4.3%; importers from Vietnam actually paid 14.3% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 10 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved 4.3% (2023-07) → 14.3% (2026-06), largest single step -6.3pp in 2026-03.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Vietnam's lower duty (14.3% vs 39.3%) lets it price up to 21.9% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, Vietnam actually lands cheaper — $0.96/kg vs $3.4/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from Vietnam · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "5503.20", origin: "Vietnam") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What Vietnam actually pays on of polyesters (HS 5503.20)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/550320/vietnam