1209.22

Clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds

Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing > Seeds of forage plants

Where this code sits

  1. Section II · Chapter
    12 — OIL SEEDS AND OLEAGINOUS FRUITS; MISCELLANEOUS GRAINS, SEEDS AND FRUIT; INDUSTRIAL OR MEDICINAL PLANTS; STRAW AND FODDER
    VEGETABLE PRODUCTS
  2. Heading
    1209 — Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing
  3. Subheading
    1209.22 — Clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds

Six digits is as far as the international nomenclature goes, and it is the same six digits in every country that applies the Harmonized System. Your destination adds further digits of its own, and the rate lives on that national line — which is why the US lines below run to eight and ten digits, and why the lookups go to each authority's own tariff.

Duty rate

This subheading splits into national lines with different duties. Which one applies is a classification decision about your specific goods, and picking one for you would be making that decision on your behalf. The national lines are listed below — choose the one that describes what you are importing.

Look it up in the authority's own tariff — the only place it is legally meaningful — then bring it back to the calculator, which will do the valuation basis, VAT treatment and statutory fees for you.

Paste 1209.22 into the lookup and follow it down to your national line.

US national lines under 1209.22

The United States subdivides this subheading into 8 lines. They do not all carry the same duty, so which one your goods fall in changes what you pay.

Line Description General Preferential
1209.22.20.00 White and ladino 1.6¢/kg Free (A+,AU,BH,CL,CO,D,E, IL,JO,KR,MA,OM,P,PA,PE,S, SG)
1209.22.40 Other Free —
1209.22.40.20 Alsike Free stated on 12092240 —
1209.22.40.30 Crimson Free stated on 12092240 —
1209.22.40.41 Double cut Free stated on 12092240 —
1209.22.40.49 Other Free stated on 12092240 —
1209.22.40.60 Sweet Free stated on 12092240 —
1209.22.40.95 Other Free stated on 12092240 —

A blank General cell means the line states no rate of its own and takes the one above it — the line it is stated on is named, so the figure can be checked where it actually appears. Preferential rates are listed with the programme codes that grant them; the schedule offering a rate is not the same as your goods qualifying for it.

Preferential rates for 1209.22

The US lines under this subheading offer a reduced or free rate under 17 programmes. Each is named from General Note 3(c)(i) — the schedule prints only the letter.

A Free

Generalized System of Preferences

Normally supported by: GSP claim

AU Free

United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

BH Free

United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

CL Free

United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

CO Free

United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

D Free

African Growth and Opportunity Act

E Free

Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act

IL Free

United States-Israel Free Trade Area

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

JO Free

United States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

KR Free

United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

MA Free

United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

OM Free

United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

P Free

Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

PA Free

United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

PE Free

United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

S Free

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

Normally supported by: USMCA certification of origin

SG Free

United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement

Normally supported by: Certification / claim under a US free trade agreement

Origin is determined by the agreement’s product-specific rules applied to your bill of materials. We hold the tariff schedule and the programme legend, not your inputs — nothing here determines that goods qualify.

What chapter 12 excludes

A subheading's wording does not decide a classification — the legal notes do. These are the notes that push goods out of this chapter even when the description seems to fit.

1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).

5. For the purposes of heading 1212, the term "seaweeds and other algae" does not include:

  • (a) Dead single-cell microorganisms of heading 2102;
  • (b) Cultures of microorganisms of heading 3002; or
  • (c) Fertilizers of heading 3101 or 3105.

Legal notes that govern this code

Reproduced from the published tariff schedule. Section and chapter notes are binding and are part of the nomenclature itself; statistical notes are US reporting rules and are not classification law.

Section II notes VEGETABLE PRODUCTS

1. In this section the term "pellets" means products which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3 percent by weight.

Chapter 12 — Notes

Legal Notes of the Harmonized System. Binding, and part of the international nomenclature.

1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).

2. Heading 1208 applies not only to non-defatted flours and meals but also to flours and meals which have been partially defatted or defatted and wholly or partially refatted with their original oils. It does not, however, apply to residues of headings 2304 to 2306.

3. For the purposes of heading 1209, beet seeds, grass and other herbage seeds, seeds of ornamental flowers, vegetable seeds, seeds of forest trees, seeds of fruit trees, seeds of vetches (other than those of the species Vicia faba ) or of lupines are to be regarded as "seeds of a kind used for sowing".

Heading 1209 does not, however, apply to the following even if for sowing:

(a) Leguminous vegetables or sweet corn (chapter 7);

(b) Spices or other products of chapter 9;

(c) Cereals (chapter 10); or

(d) Products of headings 1201 to 1207 or of heading 1211.

4. Heading 1211 applies, inter alia , to the following plants or parts thereof: basil, borage, ginseng, hyssop, licorice, all species of mint, rosemary, rue, sage and wormwood.

Heading 1211 does not, however, apply to:

(a) Medicaments of chapter 30;

(b) Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations of chapter 33; or

(c) Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, disinfectants or similar products of heading 3808.

5. For the purposes of heading 1212, the term "seaweeds and other algae" does not include:

(a) Dead single-cell microorganisms of heading 2102;

(b) Cultures of microorganisms of heading 3002; or

(c) Fertilizers of heading 3101 or 3105.

Chapter 12 — Subheading Notes

Subheading Notes. Binding, scoped to subheadings.

1. For the purposes of subheading 1205.10, the expression "low erucic acid rape or colza seeds" means rape or colza seeds yielding a fixed oil which has an erucic acid content of less than 2 percent by weight and yielding a solid component which contains less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram.

Chapter 12 — Additional U.S. Notes

Additional U.S. Notes. Binding in the United States; not part of the international HS.

1. No allowance in weight shall be made for dirt or other impurities in seed of any kind provided for in this chapter.

2. The aggregate quantity of peanuts entered under subheadings 1202.30.40, 1202.41.40, 1202.42.15, 1202.42.60, and 2008.11.46 during the 12-month period from April 1 in any year through the following March 31, inclusive, shall not exceed the quantities specified herein (articles the product of Mexico shall not be permitted or included under this quantitative limitation and no such articles shall be classifiable therein).

Quantity (metric tons) Entered in the 12-month period from April 1 in any year through the following March 31, inclusive Argentina 43,901 Other countries or areas 9,005

For the purposes of this note, imports of peanuts in the shell shall be charged against the quantities in this note on the basis of 75 kilograms for each 100 kilograms of peanuts in the shell.

Imports of peanuts under this note are subject to such regulations as may be issued by the United States Trade Representative or other designated agency.

Chapter 12 — Statistical Notes

US statistical reporting only. NOT classification law.

1. For a list of approved standards for "Certified organic", see General Statistical Note 6.

Notes are reproduced from the published tariff schedule. They govern classification, but reading them is not the same as applying them to your goods — that is what a broker or a binding ruling is for.

Other chapters that mention heading 1209

An exclusion pointing into this heading from another chapter is as decisive as one in your own, and it is the one nobody finds by reading their own chapter.

Chapter 12

3. For the purposes of heading 1209, beet seeds, grass and other herbage seeds, seeds of ornamental flowers, vegetable seeds, seeds of forest trees, seeds of fruit trees, seeds of vetches (other than those of the species Vicia faba ) or of lupines are to be regarded as "seeds of a kind used for sowing".

Chapter 12

Heading 1209 does not, however, apply to the following even if for sowing:

Other subheadings under 1209

Importing 1209.22 into

Each guide covers how duty and tax are assessed there, the authority with jurisdiction, and what catches importers out.

Common questions

What is HS code 1209.22?

1209.22 covers Clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds. It sits under heading 1209 (Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing) in chapter 12, oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder.

What is the US duty rate for 1209.22?

There is no single rate: this subheading splits into 8 US national lines with 2 different duty rates. Which one applies is a classification decision about your specific goods — the lines are listed on this page.

What is excluded from chapter 12?

1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).