Importers of HS 8544.60 (fitted with connectors) from Vietnam actually paid 16.12% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 16.12% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 3.7%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 3.21% → 16.12%, with the largest single step -11.4pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 3.7% — importers actually paid 16.12%, so the trade-war overlay added 12.4 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8544.60", origin: "Vietnam") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8544.60. The schedule base rate is 3.7%; importers from Vietnam actually paid 16.12% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 12.4 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 3.21% (2023-07) → 16.12% (2026-06), largest single step -11.4pp in 2026-03.
Vietnam's lower duty (16.12% vs 45.63%) lets it price up to 25.4% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $5.01/kg vs $9.66/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 · 4 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8544.60", origin: "Vietnam") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.