Column 1 is the side of the HTSUS that shows duty rates for normal trading partners. It is split into two sub-columns:
Column 1 General
The default duty rate applied to imports from most U.S. trading partners — countries with Normal Trade Relations (NTR) / Most Favored Nation (MFN) status. This is the "base" rate for over 99% of U.S. imports by value.
Column 1 Special
Lists the preferential rates available under U.S. trade agreements and unilateral preference programs. Each program is identified by a one- or two-letter Special Program Indicator (SPI) code:
- CA, MX — USMCA
- KR — KORUS (Korea–U.S. FTA)
- P, P+ — CAFTA-DR (Central American countries and Dominican Republic)
- IL — Israel FTA
- JO — Jordan FTA
- BH, OM, PE, PA, CO, AU, SG, CL — Bilateral FTAs (Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, Chile)
- A, A, A+* — GSP (currently lapsed)
- D — AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act)
- E, E* — CBERA (Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act)
A typical Column 1 Special entry looks like:
Free (A, AU, BH, CA, CL, CO, D, E, IL, JO, KR, MX, OM, P, PA, PE, S, SG)
— meaning the rate is free under each of those preference programs, but only if the importer claims the program with a proper Certificate of Origin and the goods meet the program's rules of origin.
If no SPI applies — or the importer fails to claim one — the Column 1 General rate governs. Even for NTR-status countries, the Column 1 General rate is the starting point.