EU Aircraft Parts Are BACK to Duty Free

October 1, 2025 by Leave a comment

Under the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft (ATCA), aircraft and their parts are supposed to enter on a duty-free basis. The recent application of duty (chapter 99 tariffs) to aircraft parts has been a major change for the aviation industry. We are slowly rolling that back.

The most recent change has been for civil aviation products of the EU. HTSUS (2025) revision 24 was issued on September 25 and it includes duty free treatment for most civil aircraft parts. The specific details can be found in the Federal Register notice.

To be clear, the actual tariff treatment is that civil aircraft parts that are products of the EU and that fall into a list of tariff codes (it is long, but reproduced below) are now exempt from additional duties, but will be subject to the regular base duty to which they were always subject.

The new chapter 99 tariff code for civil aircraft parts that are products of the EU is HTSUS 9903.02.76.

Tariff Codes Subject to the Civil Aviation Exemption for the EU:

3917.21.00 8411.21.40 8479.90.41 8518.29.80 9014.20.40
3917.22.00 8411.21.80 8479.90.45 8518.30.10 9014.20.60
3917.23.00 8411.22.40 8479.90.55 8518.30.20 9014.20.80
3917.29.00 8411.22.80 8479.90.65 8518.40.10 9014.90.10
3917.31.00 8411.81.40 8479.90.75 8518.40.20 9014.90.20
3917.33.00 8411.82.40 8479.90.85 8518.50.00 9014.90.40
3917.39.00 8411.91.10 8479.90.95 8519.81.10 9014.90.60
3917.40.00 8411.91.90 8483.10.10 8519.81.20 9020.00.40
3926.90.45 8411.99.10 8483.10.30 8519.81.25 9020.00.60
3926.90.94 8411.99.90 8483.10.50 8519.81.30 9025.11.20
3926.90.96 8412.10.00 8483.30.40 8519.81.41 9025.11.40
3926.90.99 8412.21.00 8483.30.80 8519.89.10 9025.19.40
4008.29.20 8412.29.40 8483.40.10 8519.89.20 9025.19.80
4009.12.00 8412.29.80 8483.40.30 8519.89.30 9025.80.10
4009.22.00 8412.31.00 8483.40.50 8521.10.30 9025.80.15
4009.32.00 8412.39.00 8483.40.70 8521.10.60 9025.80.20
4009.42.00 8412.80.10 8483.40.80 8521.10.90 9025.80.35
4011.30.00 8412.80.90 8483.40.90 8522.90.25 9025.80.40
4012.13.00 8412.90.90 8483.50.40 8522.90.36 9025.80.50
4012.20.10 8413.19.00 8483.50.60 8522.90.45 9025.90.06
4016.10.00 8413.20.00 8483.50.90 8522.90.58 9026.10.20
4016.93.50 8413.30.10 8483.60.40 8522.90.65 9026.10.40
4016.99.35 8413.30.90 8483.60.80 8522.90.80 9026.10.60
4016.99.60 8413.50.00 8483.90.10 8526.10.00 9026.20.40
4017.00.00 8413.60.00 8483.90.20 8526.91.00 9026.20.80
4823.90.10 8413.70.10 8483.90.30 8526.92.10 9026.80.20
4823.90.20 8413.70.20 8483.90.50 8526.92.50 9026.80.40
4823.90.31 8413.81.00 8483.90.80 8528.42.00 9026.80.60
4823.90.40 8413.91.10 8484.10.00 8528.52.00 9026.90.20
4823.90.50 8413.91.20 8484.90.00 8528.62.00 9026.90.40
4823.90.60 8413.91.90 8501.20.50 8529.10.21 9026.90.60
4823.90.67 8414.10.00 8501.20.60 8529.10.40 9029.10.80
4823.90.70 8414.20.00 8501.31.50 8529.10.91 9029.20.40
4823.90.80 8414.30.40 8501.31.60 8529.90.04 9029.90.80
4823.90.86 8414.30.80 8501.31.81 8529.90.05 9030.10.00
6812.80.90 8414.51.30 8501.32.20 8529.90.06 9030.20.05
6812.99.10 8414.51.90 8501.32.55 8529.90.09 9030.20.10
6812.99.20 8414.59.30 8501.32.61 8529.90.13 9030.31.00
6812.99.90 8414.59.65 8501.33.20 8529.90.16 9030.32.00
6813.20.00 8414.80.05 8501.33.30 8529.90.19 9030.33.34
6813.81.00 8414.80.16 8501.33.61 8529.90.21 9030.33.38
6813.89.00 8414.80.20 8501.34.61 8529.90.24 9030.39.01
7007.21.11 8414.80.90 8501.40.50 8529.90.29 9030.40.00
7304.31.30 8414.90.10 8501.40.60 8529.90.33 9030.84.00
7304.31.60 8414.90.30 8501.51.50 8529.90.36 9030.89.01
7304.39.00 8414.90.41 8501.51.60 8529.90.39 9030.90.25
7304.41.30 8414.90.91 8501.52.40 8529.90.43 9030.90.46
7304.41.60 8415.10.60 8501.52.80 8529.90.46 9030.90.66
7304.49.00 8415.10.90 8501.53.40 8529.90.49 9030.90.68
7304.51.10 8415.81.01 8501.53.60 8529.90.55 9030.90.84
7304.51.50 8415.82.01 8501.61.01 8529.90.63 9030.90.89
7304.59.10 8415.83.00 8501.62.01 8529.90.68 9031.80.40
7304.59.20 8415.90.40 8501.63.01 8529.90.73 9031.80.80
7304.59.60 8415.90.80 8501.71.00 8529.90.77 9031.90.21
7304.59.80 8418.10.00 8501.72.10 8529.90.78 9031.90.45
7304.90.10 8418.30.00 8501.72.20 8529.90.81 9031.90.54
7304.90.30 8418.40.00 8501.72.30 8529.90.83 9031.90.59
7304.90.50 8418.61.01 8501.72.90 8529.90.87 9031.90.70
7304.90.70 8418.69.01 8501.80.10 8529.90.88 9031.90.91
7306.30.10 8419.50.10 8501.80.20 8529.90.89 9032.10.00
7306.30.30 8419.50.50 8501.80.30 8529.90.93 9032.20.00
7306.30.50 8419.81.50 8502.11.00 8529.90.95 9032.81.00
7306.40.10 8419.81.90 8502.12.00 8529.90.97 9032.89.20
7306.40.50 8419.90.10 8502.13.00 8529.90.98 9032.89.40
7306.50.10 8419.90.20 8502.20.00 8531.10.00 9032.89.60
7306.50.30 8419.90.30 8502.31.00 8531.20.00 9032.90.21
7306.50.50 8419.90.50 8502.39.00 8531.80.15 9032.90.41
7306.61.10 8419.90.85 8502.40.00 8531.80.90 9032.90.61
7306.61.30 8421.19.00 8504.10.00 8536.70.00 9033.00.90
7306.61.50 8421.21.00 8504.31.20 8539.10.00 9104.00.05
7306.61.70 8421.23.00 8504.31.40 8539.51.00 9104.00.10
7306.69.10 8421.29.00 8504.31.60 8543.70.42 9104.00.20
7306.69.30 8421.31.00 8504.32.00 8543.70.45 9104.00.25
7306.69.50 8421.32.00 8504.33.00 8543.70.60 9104.00.30
7306.69.70 8421.39.01 8504.40.40 8543.70.80 9104.00.40
7312.10.05 8424.10.00 8504.40.60 8543.70.91 9104.00.45
7312.10.10 8425.11.00 8504.40.70 8543.70.95 9104.00.50
7312.10.20 8425.19.00 8504.40.85 8543.90.12 9104.00.60
7312.10.30 8425.31.01 8504.40.95 8543.90.15 9109.10.50
7312.10.50 8425.39.01 8504.50.40 8543.90.35 9109.10.60
7312.10.60 8425.42.00 8504.50.80 8543.90.65 9109.90.20
7312.10.70 8425.49.00 8507.10.00 8543.90.68 9401.10.40
7312.10.80 8426.99.00 8507.20.80 8543.90.85 9401.10.80
7312.10.90 8428.10.00 8507.30.80 8543.90.88 9403.20.00
7312.90.00 8428.20.00 8507.50.00 8544.30.00 9403.70.40
7322.90.00 8428.33.00 8507.60.00 8801.00.00 9403.70.80
7324.10.00 8428.39.00 8507.80.82 8802.11.01 9405.11.40
7324.90.00 8428.90.03 8507.90.40 8802.12.01 9405.11.60
7326.20.00 8443.31.00 8507.90.80 8802.20.01 9405.11.80
7413.00.90 8443.32.10 8511.10.00 8802.30.01 9405.19.40
7608.10.00 8443.32.50 8511.20.00 8802.40.01 9405.19.60
7608.20.00 8471.41.01 8511.30.00 8805.29.00 9405.19.80
8108.90.60 8471.49.00 8511.40.00 8807.10.00 9405.61.20
8302.10.60 8471.50.01 8511.50.00 8807.20.00 9405.61.40
8302.10.90 8471.60.10 8511.80.20 8807.30.00 9405.61.60
8302.20.00 8471.60.20 8511.80.40 8807.90.90 9405.69.20
8302.42.30 8471.60.70 8511.80.60 9001.90.40 9405.69.40
8302.42.60 8471.60.80 8514.20.40 9001.90.50 9405.69.60
8302.49.40 8471.60.90 8516.80.40 9001.90.60 9405.92.00
8302.49.60 8471.70.10 8516.80.80 9001.90.80 9405.99.20
8302.49.80 8471.70.20 8517.13.00 9001.90.90 9405.99.40
8302.60.30 8471.70.30 8517.14.00 9002.90.20 9620.00.50
8307.10.30 8471.70.40 8517.61.00 9002.90.40 9620.00.60
8307.90.30 8471.70.50 8517.62.00 9002.90.70 9802.00.40
8407.10.00 8471.70.60 8517.69.00 9002.90.85 9802.00.50
8408.90.90 8471.70.90 8517.71.00 9002.90.95 9802.00.60
8409.10.00 8479.89.10 8518.10.40 9014.10.10 9802.00.80
8411.11.40 8479.89.20 8518.10.80 9014.10.60 9818.00.05
8411.11.80 8479.89.65 8518.21.00 9014.10.70 9818.00.07
8411.12.40 8479.89.70 8518.22.00 9014.10.90
8411.12.80 8479.89.95 8518.29.40 9014.20.20

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Aircraft Parts from Japan are Once Again Duty-Free

September 16, 2025 by Leave a comment

Today, the United States published the new tariff standards for goods that are products of Japan.

Aircraft parts imported into the United States will once again enjoy duty-free status when they are products of Japan and are covered under the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.

The new tariff code for aircraft parts that are products of Japan is 9903.96.02. It exempts the parts from the new chapter 99 tariffs. As with other aircraft parts duties, this only provides duty-free treatment to the extent that the parts are covered under the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. Some things that we consider to be aircraft parts (for example: bearings and fasteners) may be outside of the scope of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, in which case they may be subject to the “normal” chapter 99 duties on goods of Japan.

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Saying the Silent Part Out Loud: Aircraft Parts Will Continue to be Subject to Changing Tariff Rules

September 6, 2025 by Leave a comment

The White House has given the industry more guidance on their plans for import tariffs that may be applied to aircraft parts. In an Executive Order published last night, the Administration confirmed that the United States will set aircraft parts duty rates at unique levels for each trading partner.

“The list of imports for which I may be willing to provide a zero percent reciprocal tariff rate is … [description of other products]; aircraft and aircraft parts…. Given the complex, fact-specific, and sensitive nature of negotiations and the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257, among other relevant considerations, the imports that might receive a reciprocal tariff rate of zero percent may be different for each final agreement between a foreign trading partner and the United States.”

This confirms that the Administration has no intent to honor the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft provisions (including the statutory provisions that implemented that agreement) that provide for duty-free entry of aircraft and aircraft parts. Instead, the Administration expects to set varying tariff levels for imported aircraft parts, based on the country of origin. This can be very complicated to assess for some parts.

For example, an aircraft component that was produced in France might be a product of France when it sold into the aftermarket by the manufacturer. But the substantial transformation doctrine dictates that if the same part was original equipment on a Boeing aircraft produced in the United States, then it became a product of the United States because the fabrication of the complete aircraft (incorporating the component) was a complex assembly. Thus, two otherwise identical aircraft parts might actually be treated differently upon their import into the United States, with the former being a product of France subject to the EU HTSUS provisions, and the latter being a product of the United States that may eligible for duty-free return (assuming that it has not been advanced in value while abroad).

Aviation has a robust record-keeping practice, but the historical duty-free treatment of aircraft parts has meant that the record-keeping practices evolved to support airworthiness, rather than for the purpose of meeting import tariff rules. Modern aircraft parts record-keeping practices may be inadequate in some cases to support common exceptions that should otherwise apply to the U.S. import of aircraft parts.

In June, ASA published an argument to the United States government suggesting that current United States law does not permit duties on aircraft parts, because of (1) the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft and also (2) statutory law that implemented the duty-free treatment of aircraft and aircraft parts. That discussion included the following text:

Any effort to impose tariff-based restrictions on commercial aviation must take into account the
Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. The Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft requires
signatories to eliminate tariffs on aircraft and aircraft parts. The Agreement has been signed by
the United States and by many of its major aviation trading partners, including Canada, France,
and the United Kingdom

In 1979, Congress approved the ATCA. That law authorized the president to accept the final
language of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft and established that it would become
effective when the President finds that other countries have accepted the obligations of the
agreement with respect to the United States. The current implementation of this in the U.S.
Code recognizes that Congress approved the ATCA. While President Carter signed the
Agreement in 1979, it was President Reagan who issued the proclamation described in the
authorizing legislation. At least since 1984, then, the ATCA has been recognized as part of the
law of the United States. The mechanism by which Congress approved the ATCA and
authorized the President to proclaim the ATCA makes it a “congressional-executive agreement.”

Congress has passed other statutory provisions to implement ATCA. For example, the ATCA is
defined in by statute as “the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft approved by the Congress
under section 2503 of [title 19 of the U.S.C.].” Congress has identified that the negotiating
objectives of the United States include eliminating tariff barriers through expanding membership
in the ATCA. General Note 6 of the HTSUS establishes which goods are eligible for duty-free
treatment under the ATCA, and the current language of that General Note was established in
1996 by Congress in the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1996. Thus,
the duty-free treatment of aircraft is established under both the Agreement on Trade in Civil
Aircraft (an international agreement) and also by implementing domestic legislative language.
Eliminating those provisions means eliminating statutory law, as well as eliminating U.S.
obligations under an international agreement. [citations omitted]

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Duty-Free Treatment for Civil Aviation Products of Japan: May Be Returning

September 4, 2025 by Leave a comment

Today the White House issued an executive order describing the new tariff agreement with Japan.

The new executive order establishes a baseline 15% tariff on goods of Japan. But it appears that aircraft parts produced in Japan may be authorized for duty-free entry into the United States.

The new executive order appears to recognize the Agreement in Trade on Civil Aircraft (“ATCA”) as providing for duty-free treatment of civil aviation products from Japan. The language is complicated because it directs that “the tariffs imposed through the following Presidential actions and subsequent amendments to those actions shall no longer apply.” The clause lists four Presidential actions. The problem is that the new executive order is not described as a specific amendment to those four Presidential actions, although it cross-references them. This leaves the administration some room to decide that the ATCA doesn’t really exempt aircraft parts from the 15% duty on goods of Japan.

But it appears that the current intent of the Administration is to recognize the ATCA duty-free treatment of civil aircraft parts that are the product of Japan. If this is implemented as we expect, then Japan will join the United Kingdom as only the second jurisdiction in which the ATCA is allowed to once-again provide duty-free treatment to civil aircraft parts, overcoming the Chapter 99 tariffs. It will take a few days for this to get implemented in the HTSUS, and when it is then the implementation will clarify the impact on aircraft parts.

In addition, the White House executive order announced a $550 billion investment in the United States by Japan. The Japan Times reported that 1-2% of this will be direct investment and the remainder will be provided in the form of loans and loan guarantees in the United States.

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Embraer Parts Appear to be Exempt from Latest Brazil Tariffs

July 30, 2025 by Leave a comment

Earlier today, the President issued an Executive Order imposing new sanctions on Brazil. The Executive Order imposes an additional 40% duty on goods of Brazil. This would be in addition to the existing 10% duty that already exists, for a total of a 50% duty on affected goods. Both of these are tariffs listed under Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, so they are called “chapter 99 tariffs.”

The good news for the aviation industry is that the Order appears to recognize the United States’ obligations under the Agreement on Trade in CIvil Aircraft, and it exempts civil aircraft parts under a wide array of tariff headings. In fact, the list includes things that are no always recognized as aircraft parts, like wires, tubes, and base metal parts [for purposes of the aviation exception, in all cases, only when the parts are intended for installation in civil aircraft]. As always, check your tariff code against the lust to be sure how your goods are treated, but the list of civil aircraft parts tariff codes that are not subject to this new Brazil tariff is a long one.

One particularly interesting element of the Executive Order is the way that it treats civil aviation maintenance performed in Brazil. When goods are exported for maintenance work overseas and the goods are then returned to the U.S., the work is typically tariffed on the invoice value of the work performed (under HTSUS 9802.00.50, for example). Many of the Chapter 99 tariffs have explicitly imposed their duties rates to maintenance performed in the subject country (for example, the tariff on goods of the EU also applies to the ‘added value’ associated with parts sent to the EU, repaired, and then returned to the United States [this is often the invoice value of the repairs]). But the additional 40% tariff does not apply to the value of maintenance of civil aircraft parts exported to Brazil for maintenance and then returned to the United States following that maintenance (at present, the earlier 10% tariff on goods of Brazil continues to apply to the added value of the repairs).

This is the second time we’ve seen this treatment for new chapter 99 tariffs – the UK tariff also has an exception for civil aircraft maintenance performed in the UK.

The Aviation Suppliers Association has filed documents with the Administration, asserting that application of many of the chapter 99 tariffs to civil aircraft parts violates both U.S. law and U.S> obligations under the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. Hopefully, the Administration is starting to recognize that aircraft parts need to be left out of the scope of the new chapter 99 tariffs.

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