Importers of HS 8544.42 (other) from Taiwan actually paid 21.56% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 21.17% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 2.6%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 2.59% → 21.56%, with the largest single step +18.4pp in 2025-08. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 2.6% — importers actually paid 21.56%, so the trade-war overlay added 19 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8544.42", origin: "Taiwan") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8544.42. The schedule base rate is 2.6%; importers from Taiwan actually paid 21.56% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 19 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 2.59% (2023-07) → 21.56% (2026-06), largest single step +18.4pp in 2025-08.
Taiwan's lower duty (21.17% vs 45.51%) lets it price up to 20.1% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, Taiwan actually lands cheaper — $16.48/kg vs $17.94/kg (duty in, freight out).
2 Chapter-99 measures name Taiwan; 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 Taiwan · the whole tariff ledger · 7 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8544.42", origin: "Taiwan") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.