Section Pillar
208 HTS Subheadings
Chapters 90–92
Section XVIII — Optical, Photographic, Medical, Measuring Instruments — 2026 US Import Tariff Guide
Data sourced from USITC 2026 Harmonized Tariff Schedule · Last verified May 31, 2026
Quick Answer
Section XVIII = Optical, Photographic, Medical, Measuring Instruments
Chapters: 90–92 · 208 HTS subheadings · Duty rates: See individual code pages
About This Section
Section XVIII covers precision instruments across three chapters: optical, photographic, and medical instruments (Chapter 90), clocks and watches (Chapter 91), and musical instruments (Chapter 92). Medical devices are regulated by FDA CDRH — 510(k) clearance or PMA approval may be required before importation. Many scientific and measuring instruments qualify for duty-free treatment under FTAs. Section 301 tariffs of 25% apply to certain Chinese-origin medical and scientific instruments. Importers of medical devices must register with FDA and list their devices prior to import.
This section contains 208 six-digit HTS subheadings across Chapters 90, 91, 92. Click any subheading below to view complete tariff rates, FTA preferences, and detailed import guidance.
All HTS Subheadings in Section XVIII — Optical, Photographic, Medical, Measuring Instruments
Browse all 208 six-digit subheadings in this section. Each page includes General, Special (FTA), and Column 2 duty rates sourced from official USITC 2026 Revision 9 data.
| HTS Code | Description | Sub-codes |
|---|---|---|
900110 |
Optical fibers, optical fiber bundles and cables | 6 |
900120 |
Sheets and plates of polarizing material | 1 |
900130 |
Contact lenses | 1 |
900140 |
Spectacle lenses of glass | 1 |
900150 |
Spectacle lenses of other materials | 1 |
900190 |
Other: | 5 |
900211 |
For cameras, projectors or photographic enlargers or reducers: | 3 |
900219 |
Other | 1 |
900220 |
Filters and parts and accessories thereof: | 2 |
900290 |
Other: | 5 |
900311 |
Of plastics | 1 |
900319 |
Of other materials | 1 |
900390 |
Parts | 1 |
900410 |
Sunglasses | 1 |
900490 |
Other | 3 |
900510 |
Binoculars | 4 |
900580 |
Other instruments: | 4 |
900590 |
Parts and accessories (including mountings): | 2 |
900630 |
Cameras specially designed for underwater use, for aerial survey, or for medical or surgical examination of internal organs; comparison cameras for forensic or criminological purposes | 1 |
900640 |
Instant print cameras: | 3 |
900653 |
For roll film of a width of 35 mm | 6 |
900659 |
Other: | 20 |
900661 |
Discharge lamp ("electronic") flashlight apparatus | 4 |
900669 |
Other | 3 |
900691 |
For cameras | 1 |
900699 |
Other | 1 |
900710 |
Cameras | 1 |
900720 |
Projectors: | 6 |
900791 |
For cameras: | 2 |
900792 |
For projectors | 1 |
900850 |
Projectors, enlargers and reducers: | 5 |
900890 |
Parts and accessories: | 2 |
901010 |
Apparatus and equipment for automatically developing photographic (including cinematographic) film or paper in rolls or for automatically exposing developed film to rolls of photographic paper | 1 |
901050 |
Other apparatus and equipment for photographic (including cinematographic) laboratories; negatoscopes: | 6 |
901060 |
Projection screens | 1 |
901090 |
Parts and accessories: | 2 |
901110 |
Stereoscopic microscopes: | 2 |
901120 |
Other microscopes, for photomicrography, cinemicrography or microprojection: | 2 |
901180 |
Other microscopes | 1 |
901190 |
Parts and accessories | 1 |
901210 |
Microscopes other than optical microscopes; diffraction apparatus | 1 |
901290 |
Parts and accessories | 1 |
901310 |
Telescopic sights for fitting to arms; periscopes; telescopes designed to form parts of machines, appliances, instruments or apparatus of this chapter or section XVI: | 4 |
901320 |
Lasers, other than laser diodes | 1 |
901380 |
Other devices, appliances and instruments: | 3 |
901390 |
Parts and accessories: | 3 |
901410 |
Direction finding compasses: | 6 |
901420 |
Instruments and appliances for aeronautical or space navigation (other than compasses): | 6 |
901480 |
Other instruments and appliances: | 4 |
901490 |
Parts and accessories: | 6 |
901510 |
Rangefinders: | 2 |
901520 |
Theodolites and tachymeters (tacheometers): | 2 |
901530 |
Levels: | 2 |
901540 |
Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and appliances: | 2 |
901580 |
Other instruments and appliances: | 5 |
901590 |
Parts and accessories | 8 |
901600 |
Balances of a sensitivity of 5 cg or better, with or without weights; parts and accessories thereof: | 3 |
901710 |
Drafting tables and machines, whether or not automatic: | 2 |
901720 |
Other drawing, marking-out or mathematical calculating instruments: | 5 |
901730 |
Micrometers, calipers and gauges: | 2 |
901780 |
Other instruments | 1 |
901790 |
Parts and accessories | 9 |
901811 |
Electrocardiographs, and parts and accessories thereof: | 3 |
901812 |
Ultrasonic scanning apparatus | 1 |
901813 |
Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus | 1 |
901814 |
Scintigraphic apparatus | 1 |
901819 |
Other: | 8 |
901820 |
Ultraviolet or infrared ray apparatus, and parts and accessories thereof | 3 |
901831 |
Syringes, with or without needles; parts and accessories thereof | 4 |
901832 |
Tubular metal needles and needles for sutures and parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
901839 |
Other | 4 |
901841 |
Dental drill engines, whether or not combined on a single base with other dental equipment, and parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
901849 |
Other: | 4 |
901850 |
Other ophthalmic instruments and appliances and parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
901890 |
Other instruments and appliances and parts and accessories thereof: | 17 |
901910 |
Mechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; parts and accessories thereof: | 10 |
901920 |
Ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus; parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
902000 |
Other breathing appliances and gas masks, excluding protective masks having neither mechanical parts nor replaceable filters; parts and accessories thereof: | 3 |
902110 |
Orthopedic or fracture appliances, and parts and accessories thereof | 3 |
902121 |
Artificial teeth and parts and accessories thereof: | 2 |
902129 |
Other: | 2 |
902131 |
Artificial joints and parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
902139 |
Other | 1 |
902140 |
Hearing aids, excluding parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
902150 |
Pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles, excluding parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
902190 |
Other: | 4 |
902212 |
Computed tomography apparatus | 1 |
902213 |
Other, for dental uses | 1 |
902214 |
Other, for medical, surgical or veterinary uses | 1 |
902219 |
For other uses | 1 |
902221 |
For medical, surgical, dental or veterinary uses | 1 |
902229 |
For other uses: | 2 |
902230 |
X-ray tubes | 1 |
902290 |
Other, including parts and accessories: | 7 |
902300 |
Instruments, apparatus and models, designed for demonstrational purposes (for example, in education or exhibitions), unsuitable for other uses, and parts and accessories thereof | 1 |
902410 |
Machines and appliances for testing metals | 1 |
902480 |
Other machines and appliances | 1 |
902490 |
Parts and accessories | 3 |
902511 |
Liquid-filled, for direct reading: | 2 |
902519 |
Other: | 6 |
902580 |
Other instruments: | 6 |
902590 |
Parts and accessories | 1 |
902610 |
For measuring or checking the flow or level of liquids: | 5 |
902620 |
For measuring or checking pressure: | 2 |
902680 |
Other instruments and apparatus: | 3 |
902690 |
Parts and accessories: | 3 |
902710 |
Gas or smoke analysis apparatus: | 3 |
902720 |
Chromatographs and electrophoresis instruments: | 9 |
902730 |
Spectrometers, spectrophotometers and spectrographs using optical radiations (ultraviolet, visible, infrared): | 6 |
902750 |
Other instruments and apparatus using optical radiations (ultraviolet, visible, infrared): | 10 |
902781 |
Mass spectrometers | 1 |
902789 |
Other: | 9 |
902790 |
Microtomes; parts and accessories: | 16 |
902810 |
Gas meters | 1 |
902820 |
Liquid meters | 1 |
902830 |
Electricity meters | 1 |
902890 |
Parts and accessories | 3 |
902910 |
Revolution counters, production counters, taximeters, odometers, pedometers and the like: | 2 |
902920 |
Speedometers and tachometers; stroboscopes: | 5 |
902990 |
Parts and accessories: | 6 |
903010 |
Instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting ionizing radiations | 1 |
903020 |
Oscilloscopes and oscillographs: | 2 |
903031 |
Multimeters, without a recording device | 1 |
903032 |
Multimeters, with a recording device | 1 |
903033 |
Other, without a recording device: | 2 |
903039 |
Other, with a recording device | 1 |
903040 |
Other instruments and apparatus, specially designed for telecommunications (for example, cross-talk meters, gain measuring instruments, distortion factor meters, psophometers) | 1 |
903082 |
For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices (including integrated circuits) | 1 |
903084 |
Other, with a recording device | 1 |
903089 |
Other | 1 |
903090 |
Parts and accessories: | 14 |
903110 |
Machines for balancing mechanical parts | 1 |
903120 |
Test benches | 1 |
903141 |
For inspecting semiconductor wafers or devices (including integrated circuits) or for inspecting photomasks or reticles used in manufacturing semiconductor devices (including integrated circuits) | 4 |
903149 |
Other: | 4 |
903180 |
Other instruments, appliances and machines: | 5 |
903190 |
Parts and accessories: | 9 |
903210 |
Thermostats | 4 |
903220 |
Manostats | 1 |
903281 |
Hydraulic and pneumatic | 4 |
903289 |
Other: | 12 |
903290 |
Parts and accessories: | 7 |
903300 |
Parts and accessories (not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter) for machines, appliances, instruments or apparatus of chapter 90: | 3 |
910111 |
With mechanical display only: | 2 |
910119 |
Other: | 6 |
910121 |
With automatic winding: | 4 |
910129 |
Other: | 8 |
910191 |
Electrically operated: | 3 |
910199 |
Other: | 4 |
910211 |
With mechanical display only: | 8 |
910212 |
With opto-electronic display only: | 3 |
910219 |
Other: | 4 |
910221 |
With automatic winding: | 6 |
910229 |
Other: | 13 |
910291 |
Electrically operated: | 3 |
910299 |
Other: | 4 |
910310 |
Electrically operated: | 3 |
910390 |
Other | 1 |
910400 |
Instrument panel clocks and clocks of a similar type for vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels: | 9 |
910511 |
Electrically operated: | 2 |
910519 |
Other: | 5 |
910521 |
Electrically operated: | 2 |
910529 |
Other: | 5 |
910591 |
Electrically operated: | 2 |
910599 |
Other: | 6 |
910610 |
Time registers; time-recorders | 1 |
910690 |
Other: | 6 |
910700 |
Time switches with clock or watch movement or with synchronous motor: | 4 |
910811 |
With mechanical display only or with a device to which a mechanical display can be incorporated: | 2 |
910812 |
With opto-electronic display only | 1 |
910819 |
Other: | 2 |
910820 |
With automatic winding: | 2 |
910890 |
Other: | 11 |
910910 |
Electrically operated: | 8 |
910990 |
Other: | 3 |
911011 |
Complete movements, unassembled or partly assembled (movement sets) | 1 |
911012 |
Incomplete movements, assembled | 1 |
911019 |
Rough movements | 1 |
911090 |
Other: | 3 |
911110 |
Cases of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 1 |
911120 |
Cases of base metal, whether or not gold- or silver-plated: | 2 |
911180 |
Other cases | 1 |
911190 |
Parts: | 3 |
911220 |
Cases: | 2 |
911290 |
Parts | 1 |
911310 |
Of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 1 |
911320 |
Of base metal, whether or not gold- or silver-plated: | 4 |
911390 |
Other: | 2 |
911430 |
Dials: | 2 |
911440 |
Plates and bridges: | 4 |
911490 |
Other: | 7 |
920110 |
Upright pianos | 6 |
920120 |
Grand pianos | 7 |
920190 |
Other | 1 |
920210 |
Played with a bow | 1 |
920290 |
Other: | 3 |
920510 |
Brass-wind instruments | 3 |
920590 |
Other: | 12 |
920600 |
Percussion musical instruments (for example, drums, xylophones, cymbals, castanets, maracas): | 4 |
920710 |
Keyboard instruments, other than accordions | 8 |
920790 |
Other | 3 |
920810 |
Music boxes | 1 |
920890 |
Other | 3 |
920930 |
Musical instrument strings | 1 |
920991 |
Parts and accessories for pianos: | 2 |
920992 |
Parts and accessories for the musical instruments of heading 9202: | 4 |
920994 |
Parts and accessories for the musical instruments of heading 9207: | 2 |
920999 |
Other: | 10 |
Chapter Overview
Section XVIII — Optical, Photographic, Medical, Measuring Instruments covers Chapters 90, 91, 92 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The HTS is organized into 21 sections and 97 chapters, with each chapter covering a distinct category of goods. Within this section, there are 208 six-digit subheadings, each potentially containing multiple 8-digit and 10-digit statistical suffixes that specify the exact duty rate applicable to your product.
Importers should pay particular attention to the Chapter Notes at the beginning of each chapter, as these notes define the scope of the chapter and may exclude certain products or provide special classification rules that override the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI).