Trimtabist

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

What India actually pays on smartphones

Importers of HS 8517.13 (smartphones) from India actually paid 9.92% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 0% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is Free. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved null% → 9.92%, with the largest single step -20.4pp in 2026-01. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is Free — importers actually paid 9.92%, so the trade-war overlay added 9.9 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8517.13", origin: "India") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

India paid 9.92% on HS 8517.13 — the schedule says Free Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 9.92% HTS base Free — the rulebook floor2025-042025-102026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 8517.13. The schedule base rate is Free; importers from India actually paid 9.92% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 9.9 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved % (2023-07) → 9.92% (2026-06), largest single step -20.4pp in 2026-01.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

India's lower duty (0% vs 0.02%) lets it price up to 0% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $85.69/kg vs $93.47/kg (duty in, freight out).

The trade-war measures that name India or this sector

8 Chapter-99 measures name India; 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.

9903.01.56
measure 9903.01.56
+27%
9903.01.55
measure 9903.01.55
+26%
Notice of Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of India Pursuant to the President's Executive Order
measure 9903.01.84 · Federal Register citation
+25%
9903.02.26
measure 9903.02.26
+25%
9903.79.01
measure 9903.79.01
+25%
9903.02.27
measure 9903.02.27
+19%
9903.05.44
measure 9903.05.44
+10%
9903.05.45
measure 9903.05.45
+10%

Go deeper

All goods from India · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8517.13", origin: "India") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What India actually pays on smartphones (HS 8517.13)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/851713/india