Chapter 02
Meat and edible meat offal
Section I — Live animals; animal products · 10 headings · 66 subheadings
Duty in chapter 02 at a glance
Counted across the 196 US national lines beneath this chapter's subheadings. It says what kind of chapter this is before you read ninety headings to find out.
- Duty-free lines
- 26 of 196 stating a rate
- Ad valorem range
- 2.3% – 26.4%
- Dutiable per unit, not on value
- 124 lines are charged per kilogram, litre or item rather than as a percentage of the customs value. A landed-cost estimate built from value alone will understate the duty on those.
Preference programmes appearing in this chapter
Named from General Note 3(c)(i). A programme appearing here does not mean it applies to your goods — that depends on the line, the origin and the agreement's rules of origin.
What this chapter excludes
These notes push goods out of chapter 02 even when a subheading's wording seems to fit. They are the fastest way to find out you are in the wrong chapter.
1. This chapter does not cover:
- (a) Products of the kinds described in headings 0201 to 0208 or 0210, unfit or unsuitable for human consumption;
- (b) Edible, non-living insects (heading 0410);
- (c) Guts, bladders, or stomachs of animals (heading 0504) or animal blood (heading 0511 or 3002); or
- (d) Animal fat, other than products of heading 0209 (chapter 15)
Legal notes
Reproduced from the published tariff schedule. Section and chapter notes are binding and part of the nomenclature; statistical notes are US reporting rules and are not classification law.
Section I notes LIVE ANIMALS; ANIMAL PRODUCTS
1. Any reference in this section to a particular genus or species of an animal, except where the context otherwise requires, includes a reference to the young of that genus or species.
2. Except where the context otherwise requires, throughout the tariff schedule any reference to "dried" products also covers products which have been dehydrated, evaporated or freeze-dried.
Chapter 02 — Notes
Legal Notes of the Harmonized System. Binding, and part of the international nomenclature.
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) Products of the kinds described in headings 0201 to 0208 or 0210, unfit or unsuitable for human consumption;
(b) Edible, non-living insects (heading 0410);
(c) Guts, bladders, or stomachs of animals (heading 0504) or animal blood (heading 0511 or 3002); or
(d) Animal fat, other than products of heading 0209 (chapter 15)
Chapter 02 — Additional U.S. Notes
Additional U.S. Notes. Binding in the United States; not part of the international HS.
1. For the purposes of this chapter--
(a) The term "processed" covers meats which have been ground or comminuted, diced or cut into sizes for stew meat or similar uses, rolled and skewered, or specially processed into fancy cuts, special shapes, or otherwise made ready for particular uses by the retail consumer.
(b) The term "high-quality beef cuts" means beef specially processed into fancy cuts, special shapes, or otherwise made ready for particular uses by the retail consumer (but not ground or comminuted, diced or cut into sizes for stew meat or similar uses, or rolled or skewered), which meets the specifications in regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Prime or Choice beef, and which has been so certified prior to exportation by an official of the government of the exporting country, in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.
2. In assessing the duty on meats, no allowance shall be made for normal components thereof such as bones, fat, and hide or skin. The dutiable weight of meats in airtight containers subject to specific rates includes the entire contents of the containers.
3. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this note, the aggregate quantity of beef, entered under subheadings 0201.10.10, 0201.20.10, 0201.20.30, 0201.20.50, 0201.30.10, 0201.30.30, 0201.30.50, 0202.10.10, 0202.20.10, 0202.20.30, 0202.20.50, 0202.30.10, 0202.30.30 and 0202.30.50 in any calendar year shall not exceed the quantities specified in this note.
(b) In addition to the aggregate quantity of beef of Argentina specified in subsection (a) of this note, an additional 80,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings of Argentina may be entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, between 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 13, 2026, and 11:59 p.m. eastern time on December 31, 2026, under statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091 and 0202.30.5097, as specified in HTSUS heading 9903.54.01. The additional aggregate quantity of beef of Argentina specified under subsection (b) of this note shall be administered on a quarterly basis such that, in any quarter, the additional aggregate quantity of beef of Argentina entered under statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091 and 0202.30.5097 shall not exceed 20,000 metric tons.
Quantity (metric ton) Canada No limit Mexico No limit Australia 378,214 New Zealand 213,402 Argentina 20,000 Uruguay 20,000 United Kingdom 13,000 Other countries or areas 52,005 Note (con.)
(c) In addition to the aggregate quantity of beef specified in subsection (a) of this note and the aggregate quantity of lean beef trimmings of Argentina specified in subsection (b) of this note, 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings of other countries or areas, described in statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091 and 0202.30.5097, may be entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, between 12:01 a.m. local port time on September 1, 2026, and 11:59 p.m. eastern time on November 30, 2026, as specified in HTSUS heading 9903.54.02. The additional aggregate quantity of lean beef trimmings specified under subsection (c) of this note shall be administered in three 30-day tranches such that, in any 30-day period, the additional aggregate quantity of lean beef trimmings entered under statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091 and 0202.30.5097 shall not exceed 100,000 metric tons.
Imports under these provisions are subject to regulations issued by the United States Trade Representative.
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.
Headings in chapter 02
0201 Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled
0202 Meat of bovine animals, frozen
0203 Meat of swine, fresh, chilled, or frozen
0204 Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen
0206 Edible offal of bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh, chilled or frozen
0207 Meat and edible offal, of the poultry of heading 0105, fresh, chilled or frozen
0208 Other meat and edible meat offal, fresh, chilled or frozen
0209 Pig fat, free of lean meat, and poultry fat, not rendered or otherwise extracted, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine, dried or smoked
0210 Meat and edible meat offal, salted, in brine, dried or smoked; edible flours and meals of meat or meat offal
Other chapters
Common questions
What does HS chapter 02 cover?
Meat and edible meat offal. It contains 10 headings and 66 six-digit subheadings, and sits in Section I (live animals; animal products).
What is excluded from chapter 02?
1. This chapter does not cover: (a) Products of the kinds described in headings 0201 to 0208 or 0210, unfit or unsuitable for human consumption; (b) Edible, non-living insects (heading 0410); (c) Guts, bladders, or stomachs of animals (heading 0504) or animal blood (heading 0511 or 3002); or (d) Animal fat, other than products of heading 0209 (chapter 15)
Are chapter 02's notes legally binding?
This chapter carries 14 binding note paragraph(s) — legal notes of the Harmonized System, plus any US-specific Additional U.S. Notes. They decide classification, and they outrank the wording of an individual subheading.