Trimtabist

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

What Taiwan actually pays on screwdrivers, and parts thereof

Importers of HS 8205.40 (screwdrivers, and parts thereof) from Taiwan actually paid 16.2% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 16.19% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 6.2%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 6.2% → 16.2%, with the largest single step +7.1pp in 2025-05. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 6.2% — importers actually paid 16.2%, so the trade-war overlay added 10 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8205.40", origin: "Taiwan") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

Taiwan paid 16.2% on HS 8205.40 — the schedule says 6.2% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 16.2% HTS base 6.2% — the rulebook floor2023-072024-122026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 8205.40. The schedule base rate is 6.2%; importers from Taiwan actually paid 16.2% 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 6.2% (2023-07) → 16.2% (2026-06), largest single step +7.1pp in 2025-05.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Taiwan's lower duty (16.19% vs 40.14%) lets it price up to 20.6% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $6.07/kg vs $16.39/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from Taiwan · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8205.40", origin: "Taiwan") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What Taiwan actually pays on screwdrivers, and parts thereof (HS 8205.40)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/820540/taiwan