What duty and tariff issues apply to custom silicone and rubber parts?
Confidence 4/5 Established practice
Duty considerations for custom silicone and rubber parts:
US duty on 3926.90 was 5.3% at the time of writing; EU duty around 6.5%. Both are rate-sensitive and must be checked against the current tariff schedule for the exact code before quoting.
Sources
- Silicone and rubber moulding process guidance — Industry practice; cross-checked against made-in-China supplier data
- Rubber articles under HS 4016 — World Customs Organization HS nomenclature
- Food-contact material compliance — US FDA 21 CFR 177.2600
What goes wrong with custom silicone and rubber parts
- Suppliers quoting "food grade silicone" without a test report. Ask for the specific compliance document, not the phrase.
- Silicone colour matching is done by adding pigment; a tight Pantone match can shift between batches. Approve a physical sample and a tolerance.
- Hardness is specified in Shore A. Omitting it is the single most common cause of a part that feels wrong on arrival.
- Platinum-cure and peroxide-cure silicone behave differently and are not interchangeable for food or medical use.
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