The independent observatory for US trade — ship movements,
customs records and policy events, measured and tested.
What Italy actually pays on valued not over $2.50/pair
Importers of HS 6404.20 (valued not over $2.50/pair) from Italy actually paid 31.56% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 31.56% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 15%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 19.47% → 31.56%, with the largest single step +10.9pp in 2026-02. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 15% — importers actually paid 31.56%, so the trade-war overlay added 16.6 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "6404.20", origin: "Italy") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 6404.20. The schedule base rate is
15%; importers from Italy actually paid 31.56% on the
dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 16.6 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 19.47% (2023-07) → 31.56% (2026-06), largest single step +10.9pp in 2026-02.
Landed cost vs the benchmark
China's lower duty (28.54% vs 31.56%) lets it price up to 2.3% above Italy at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $15.18/kg vs $164.94/kg (duty in, freight out).
The trade-war measures that name Italy or this sector
15 Chapter-99 measures name Italy; scope mapping is partial (several annexes are PDFs) — absence never means exemption. They do not sum, and some are product-specific — the collected rate above is the composed truth.
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.10 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.13 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.16 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.19 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.22 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.25 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.28 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.31 · Federal Register citation+25%
In print: “What Italy actually pays on valued not over $2.50/pair (HS 6404.20)” —
Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/640420/italy