Classification conclusion and import answer
Conditional conclusion: ethylene polymers in legally defined primary forms enter heading 3901; boxes, sacks, bags, bottles, closures and similar shaped articles objectively used to convey or pack goods enter 3923. There is no common ten-digit number or duty rate. Resin classification turns on monomer composition, density and physical form; a finished article turns on its shape, constituent plastic and packing function. Ordinary virgin PE and ordinary empty packaging have no single federal import license, but TSCA, FDA food-contact status, CBP marking, dangerous-goods facts, forced-labor controls, trade remedies and state packaging laws must be screened independently. Plastic waste is not made admissible by describing it as resin.
Boundary between 3901, 3923 and 3915
Apply GRI 1, Chapter 39 Note 6 and GRI 6. Subheading 3901.10 covers qualifying polyethylene below specific gravity 0.94, 3901.20 polyethylene at or above 0.94, 3901.30 EVA and 3901.40 certain ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers below 0.94. Rolls of film, tubing and molded packages are not primary forms. Heading 3923 separates boxes/crates, sacks and bags of ethylene polymers, other bags, bottles/flasks, spools, stoppers and residual packing articles. Material sold as irregular contaminated scrap may fall in 3915; uniform recycled pellets manufactured to a product specification require a different factual analysis and proof that they are a commercial material rather than waste.
Facts needed for the ten-digit HTSUS line
For resin obtain the exact polymer identity, CAS information for polymer and additives, ethylene and comonomer percentages, specific-gravity method and result, melt-flow data, pellet/powder form, virgin or recycled process and intended use. For packing articles obtain drawings, dimensions, wall thickness, capacity, closure, layers, resin by layer, the product packed, temperature and food-contact conditions. Distinguish a formed bag from film in rolls, a retail carrier bag from an industrial liner, and a plastic IBC from a composite article. The invoice, sample, SDS, technical data sheet, certificate of analysis and purchase specification must describe the same SKU.
Base duty, Chapter 99 and entry charges
Column 1 General, special-program and Column 2 rates must be read from the exact ten-digit HTSUS on the entry date. Add the merchandise processing fee, harbor maintenance fee for applicable vessel entries, broker and examination costs separately. Chapter 99 measures, Section 301 and sanctions depend on the tariff line, origin and date. A base rate marked Free does not establish a zero landed duty. State sales/use tax is not a federal customs duty. Preference requires a qualifying FTA rule and records; shipment from an FTA country does not establish origin. Never quote one percentage for all 3901 and 3923 merchandise.
TSCA control of resin and additives
Import is manufacture under TSCA. PE resin and its additives must be checked against the TSCA Inventory, Section 5 PMN/SNUR requirements and applicable Sections 5, 6 or consent orders; the importer normally files the positive or negative certification required by 15 U.S.C. 2612 and 19 CFR 12.118-12.127. EPA states that chemicals that are part of articles generally need no certification unless a specific rule requires it, but pellets are chemical substances rather than finished articles. Confidential formulation does not excuse compliance: establish lawful identity through the supplier or an authorized representative. A food, pesticide or other statutorily excluded chemical follows the correct negative-certification and agency path.
FDA rules for food-contact packaging
For food-contact bottles, film or closures, every substance reasonably expected to migrate must be authorized by 21 CFR Parts 174-179, GRAS status, prior sanction, a Threshold of Regulation exemption or an effective Food Contact Substance Notification covering that manufacturer and use. A generic food-grade letter is insufficient where colorants, recycled feedstock, inks, adhesives or multilayers differ. Document food type, contact time and temperature, repeated use and migration assumptions. FDA does not generally pre-approve a finished package as a shipment; the importer must be able to demonstrate that each component and condition of use is lawful under the FD&C Act.
Packaging safety, labeling and state EPR
Consumer packaging must be reasonably safe for intended and foreseeable use; bags associated with children's products may require suffocation-warning and product-specific CPSC analysis. FPLA and FTC net-quantity or identity rules concern packaged consumer commodities, while CBP country marking concerns the imported article; these must not be conflated. Packaging EPR, recycled-content, labeling and single-use-plastic laws increasingly arise at state level, including producer registration and reporting. Identify the states of first sale before asserting compliance. Environmental claims such as recyclable, compostable or recycled content require reliable substantiation and must satisfy the FTC Green Guides and any stricter state law.
Origin, Section 301 and AD/CVD
Country of shipment is not origin. Preserve polymerization, pelletizing and molding records and analyze substantial transformation for resin and finished packaging separately. China-origin lines may trigger Section 301 under the applicable Chapter 99 provision. Polyethylene retail carrier bags are subject to multiple AD/CVD orders; scope language, bag dimensions/use, origin and producer/exporter control, not the HTS number alone, determine exposure and cash-deposit rate. Screen Commerce ACCESS, CBP messages, UFLPA entities and sanctions before shipment. Routing through a third country or printing a new origin label cannot cure evasion or forced-labor defects.
Entry file and customs description
Maintain contract, invoice, packing list, bill of lading, entry bond, classification memo, SDS/TDS, CAS and additive statement, density and melt-flow reports, certificate of analysis, virgin/recycled process, drawings, layer composition, FDA authorization chain, migration support, TSCA certification, origin production records and trade-remedy scope memo. A useful description is “Virgin high-density polyethylene resin, specific gravity 0.952, pellets, no filler, blow-molding grade ..., new, origin ...” or “Formed polyethylene packing bags, dimensions ..., thickness ..., for packing ..., not on rolls, new, origin ...”. Do not enter a mixed shipment as “plastic goods.”
Official U.S. sources
Official sources checked September 12, 2026: USITC HTSUS, EPA TSCA import requirements, FDA status of food-contact components, FTC Green Guides and Commerce AD/CVD ACCESS. Recheck the tariff, Chapter 99, orders and state law on the entry and sale dates.
Limits and pre-import actions
This guide is not a CBP ruling for an unidentified SKU. A defensible opinion needs composition, density, additives, form, waste status, package construction, dimensions, packed product, food contact, producer, origin chain, value, port and entry date. Seek a binding ruling where the boundary is material, and allocate contract responsibility for TSCA identity, FDA authorization, AD/CVD scope, origin, detention, redelivery and destruction.
Official sources to verify
- WCO — HS Nomenclature 2022 and General Rules for Interpretation
- United States International Trade Commission — Harmonized Tariff Schedule
Editorial note
Prepared by the Global HS Code Checker Editorial Team for customs-classification, tariff and import-policy research. The correct code and applicable measures may change with the merchandise's actual characteristics, jurisdiction, entry date and supporting record. Verify the current tariff, governing measures and competent customs authority before filing an entry. A reviewer is identified only after a named expert has completed the review.