Importers of HS 8536.90 (battery clamps of a kind used in motor vehicles of heading 8) from Vietnam actually paid 13.15% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 11.26% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 2.7%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved null% → 13.15%, with the largest single step +20.2pp in 2025-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 2.7% — importers actually paid 13.15%, so the trade-war overlay added 10.4 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8536.90", origin: "Vietnam") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8536.90. The schedule base rate is 2.7%; importers from Vietnam actually paid 13.15% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 10.4 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved % (2023-07) → 13.15% (2026-06), largest single step +20.2pp in 2025-03.
Vietnam's lower duty (11.26% vs 31.93%) lets it price up to 18.6% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $7.86/kg vs $12.38/kg (duty in, freight out).
2 Chapter-99 measures name Vietnam; 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 Vietnam · the whole tariff ledger · 6 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8536.90", origin: "Vietnam") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.