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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Import Basics for the Aircraft Parts Distribution Community (Part 1 of 3)

May 20, 2014 by Leave a comment

This is the first in a series of articles discussing import into the United States of aircraft parts. It is meant to lay the ground-work for the rest of the series by explaining some basic terms and notions that apply to U.S. import law.

Import law is important to both U.S. companies (who are importing into the U.S.) and non-U.S. companies. non-U.S. companies may be exporting to the U.S., but that doesn’t mean tat they can ignore the U.S. import laws.  They need to cooperate with their U.S. importers to make sure that the importer can readily clear Customs with the goods without unnecessary delay.

U.S. import law applies to goods that enter the customs territory of the United States. The customs territory of the United States includes only the States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Other US possessions are not considered to be part of the customs territory of the United States.

Imports are regulated for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important historical reasons for regulating imports is to apply tariffs. The first US Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1789 in order to raise funds to be able to operate the government. Until the federal income tax began in the early 20th century, tariffs were the single most important source of revenue for the United States government.

Modern US policy no longer relies heavily on tariffs as a major source of US revenue – instead the US now uses tariffs to advance industrial, trade and foreign policy issues. For example, where the US believes that foreign goods are being subsidized, and that this subsidy is permitting them to be sold into the US market at a below-cost price, the US may apply heavy tariffs in order to make the imported goods more competitive relative to US-manufactured goods. Part of the reason for doing this is to protect the correlative US manufacturing industry because if the US correlative US manufacturing industry were to disappear in the face of the subsidized imports, then the prices for the imports could be increased to supra-competitive levels because there would be no domestic competition to offer competition that could prevent such price increases.

Many of the countries that have significant aviation industries are signatories to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, which addresses import tariffs on aircraft parts. Most people in our industry know that aircraft parts are imported “duty-free” under the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.

But while duty-free treatment is the general rule, there are many exceptions.

Aviation industry personnel often do not realize that many aircraft parts are characterized as other things for import purposes. Some parts that appear to be aircraft parts are treated under other categories for import tariff purposes. This includes things like washers, certain rubber articles, certain bearings, brushes found in machines, and lamps and lighting fittings. These parts will all have special classifications, so learning how to identify the right classifications is important.

An important first step for importing goods is classification. The importer will be responsible for properly classifying the import goods, and this classification may drive the applicable tariffs.

Many nations have adopted the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HCDCS) which is a list that is published and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The HCDCS serves as the basis for the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which is the list of goods used in the United States.

Classifications of goods are listed in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, so you would find aircraft parts in this schedule; but you will also find exceptions. In part two of this series we will look more closely at the harmonized tariff codes applicable to aircraft parts and will discuss the full list of exceptions. In forthcoming articles, we will discuss topics like:

  • USHTS classification numbers associated with aircraft parts; and
  • Exceptions to the general rules including parts that are NOT duty-free.

 

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