Importers of HS 8479.50 (industrial robots, not elsewhere specified or included) from Japan actually paid 12.5% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 12.5% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 2.5%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 2.5% → 12.5%, with the largest single step -7.2pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 2.5% — importers actually paid 12.5%, so the trade-war overlay added 10 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8479.50", origin: "Japan") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8479.50. The schedule base rate is 2.5%; importers from Japan actually paid 12.5% 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 2.5% (2023-07) → 12.5% (2026-06), largest single step -7.2pp in 2026-03.
Japan's lower duty (12.5% vs 34.62%) lets it price up to 19.7% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $34.88/kg vs $39.55/kg (duty in, freight out).
12 Chapter-99 measures name Japan; 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.
All goods from Japan · the whole tariff ledger · 1 CBP ruling cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8479.50", origin: "Japan") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.