The independent observatory for US trade — ship movements,
customs records and policy events, measured and tested.
What Germany actually pays on lenses
Importers of HS 9001.90 (lenses) from Germany actually paid 10% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 9.8% 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% → 10%, with the largest single step +9pp in 2025-04. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is Free — importers actually paid 10%, so the trade-war overlay added 10 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "9001.90", origin: "Germany") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 9001.90. The schedule base rate is
Free; importers from Germany actually paid 10% on the
dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 10 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved % (2023-07) → 10% (2026-06), largest single step +9pp in 2025-04.
Landed cost vs the benchmark
Germany's lower duty (9.8% vs 34.7%) lets it price up to 22.7% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $53.37/kg vs $154.1/kg (duty in, freight out).
The trade-war measures that name Germany or this sector
15 Chapter-99 measures name Germany; 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.
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.10 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.13 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.16 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.19 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.22 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.25 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.28 · Federal Register citation+25%
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Airc measure 9903.89.31 · Federal Register citation+25%
In print: “What Germany actually pays on lenses (HS 9001.90)” —
Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/900190/germany