Importers of HS 8544.20 (coaxial cable and other coaxial electric conductors) from Vietnam actually paid 14.62% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 14.15% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 5.3%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 5.3% → 14.62%, with the largest single step -8.5pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 5.3% — importers actually paid 14.62%, so the trade-war overlay added 9.3 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8544.20", origin: "Vietnam") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8544.20. The schedule base rate is 5.3%; importers from Vietnam actually paid 14.62% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 9.3 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 5.3% (2023-07) → 14.62% (2026-06), largest single step -8.5pp in 2026-03.
Vietnam's lower duty (14.15% vs 39.71%) lets it price up to 22.4% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, Vietnam actually lands cheaper — $4.77/kg vs $6.94/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 · 2 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8544.20", origin: "Vietnam") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.