Heading · Section XVI
8549: Electrical and electronic waste and scrap
- FreeUK
- 0%–4.7%EU
- 50%Türkiye
- FreeUSA
- US$3.8bnWorld trade in 2024
Heading 8549 is divided into 11 six-digit subheadings and sits in chapter 85, electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof.
The UK Global Tariff divides heading 8549 into 21 tariff lines; the duty is duty-free.
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, heading 8549 covers 20 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 4.7%. 11 of them are duty-free.
The Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule divides heading 8549 into 20 tariff lines; the statutory rate is 50%.
In the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, heading 8549 covers 13 tariff lines and the duty is duty-free.
In 2024, countries exported heading 8549 goods worth US$3.8bn (+14.7% year on year).
The largest exporter was the United States (US$1.3bn), followed by the Netherlands.
The biggest buyer was Japan, with imports of US$900.4m.
The United Kingdom ranked 7th among 189 exporters with US$95.1m.
The United Kingdom imported US$24.2m.
Duty rates compared
The Turkish schedule prints the statutory rate set under Customs Law 474. The rate applied at import is laid down in the Import Regime Decision and can be lower, or different by country of origin.
Subheadings 11
- 8549.11Waste and scrap of lead-acid accumulators; spent lead-acid accumulators
- 8549.12Other, containing lead, cadmium or mercury
- 8549.13Sorted by chemical type and not containing lead, cadmium or mercury
- 8549.14Unsorted and not containing lead, cadmium or mercury
- 8549.19Waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and: other
- 8549.21Containing primary cells, primary batteries, electric accumulators, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes or other activated glass, or electrical or electronic components containing cadmium, mercury, lead or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- 8549.29Of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious: other
- 8549.31Containing primary cells, primary batteries, electric accumulators, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes or other activated glass, or electrical or electronic components containing cadmium, mercury, lead or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- 8549.39Other electrical and electronic assemblies and printed: other
- 8549.91Containing primary cells, primary batteries, electric accumulators, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes or other activated glass, or electrical or electronic components containing cadmium, mercury, lead or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- 8549.99Electrical and electronic waste and scrap: other, other
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$2.2mUS$2.2m+US$13.3m+US$36m+> US$110.1m
Exports: 189
- United States: US$1.3bn
- Netherlands: US$286.3m
- Germany: US$214.2m
- Italy: US$130.5m
- Taiwan: US$121.8m
- France: US$110.1m
- United Kingdom: US$95.1m
- Canada: US$90.2m
- Brazil: US$84m
- Poland: US$71.7m
- United Arab Emirates: US$70.4m
- Yemen: US$60m
- Philippines: US$51.2m
- Australia: US$41.9m
- Singapore: US$41.6m
- Romania: US$39.3m
- Lithuania: US$37m
- China: US$36.3m
- Dominican Republic: US$36m
- Portugal: US$32.4m
- Czechia: US$29.3m
- Sweden: US$29m
- Switzerland: US$27.3m
- Norway: US$27.1m
- Türkiye: US$26.8m
- Indonesia: US$26.3m
- South Africa: US$25.7m
- Mexico: US$24.6m
- Denmark: US$24.3m
- Japan: US$23m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$22.4m
- South Korea: US$22.1m
- New Zealand: US$21.2m
- Spain: US$21.1m
- Slovakia: US$20.4m
- Vietnam: US$20.4m
- Hungary: US$20m
- Thailand: US$19.2m
- Israel: US$19.2m
- Finland: US$18.5m
- Colombia: US$18m
- Panama: US$17.5m
- Ireland: US$16.8m
- Guatemala: US$15.8m
- Estonia: US$15.7m
- Malaysia: US$15.6m
- Kuwait: US$14.8m
- Honduras: US$13.3m
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: US$13.2m
- Austria: US$13.1m
- Saudi Arabia: US$12.5m
- Belgium: US$12.3m
- Nigeria: US$9.4m
- El Salvador: US$7.8m
- Bulgaria: US$7.4m
- Bahrain: US$6.7m
- Kyrgyzstan: US$6.6m
- Greece: US$6.4m
- India: US$6.2m
- Senegal: US$6.1m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$111.7kUS$111.7k+US$3.3m+US$25.2m+> US$224.4m
Imports: 166
- Japan: US$900.4m
- South Korea: US$592.3m
- India: US$475.8m
- Mexico: US$469.8m
- Belgium: US$224.4m
- Germany: US$203.1m
- Canada: US$125.6m
- Bulgaria: US$87.3m
- Sweden: US$83.2m
- Spain: US$77.7m
- Netherlands: US$74.8m
- Singapore: US$49.4m
- Pakistan: US$39.8m
- United States: US$36.2m
- Czechia: US$35.9m
- Poland: US$32.3m
- France: US$25.2m
- United Kingdom: US$24.2m
- Greece: US$22.7m
- Malaysia: US$21.3m
- Estonia: US$20.6m
- Portugal: US$19.4m
- Ecuador: US$17.4m
- Austria: US$17m
- Lithuania: US$16.8m
- Romania: US$12.6m
- Slovenia: US$10.1m
- Philippines: US$9.4m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$8m
- Oman: US$6.5m
- North Macedonia: US$6.4m
- Thailand: US$6m
- Indonesia: US$6m
- Serbia: US$5.9m
- Italy: US$5.7m
- Costa Rica: US$5.7m
- Norway: US$5.1m
- Hungary: US$4.5m
- Croatia: US$4m
- United Arab Emirates: US$3.6m
- Latvia: US$3.3m
- Taiwan: US$3.3m
- China: US$3.1m
- Kazakhstan: US$2.7m
- Nigeria: US$2.6m
- Slovakia: US$2.1m
- Panama: US$1.8m
- South Africa: US$1.8m
- Brazil: US$1.8m
- Australia: US$1.7m
- Finland: US$1.6m
- Türkiye: US$1.6m
- Togo: US$1.6m
- Rwanda: US$1.5m
- Laos: US$768.9k
- Switzerland: US$732k
- Israel: US$525.7k
- Zimbabwe: US$505.9k
- Denmark: US$498.1k
- Saudi Arabia: US$494k
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US$1.3bn | 33.8% | |
| 2 | US$286.3m | 7.5% | |
| 3 | US$214.2m | 5.6% | |
| 4 | US$130.5m | 3.4% | |
| 5 | US$121.8m | 3.2% | |
| 6 | US$110.1m | 2.9% | |
| 7 | US$95.1m | 2.5% | |
| 8 | US$90.2m | 2.4% | |
| 9 | US$84m | 2.2% | |
| 10 | US$71.7m | 1.9% |
Legal notes
Subheading notes
1. Subheading 852581 covers only high-speed television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders having one or more of the following characteristics:
- writing speed exceeding 0,5 mm per microsecond;
- time resolution 50 nanoseconds or less;
- frame rate exceeding 225000 frames per second.
2. In respect of subheading 852582, radiation-hardened or radiation-tolerant television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders are designed or shielded to enable operation in a high-radiation environment. These cameras are designed to withstand a total radiation dose of at least 50 × 103 Gy(silicon) (5 × 106 RAD (silicon)), without operational degradation.
3. Subheading 852583 covers night vision television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders which use a photocathode to convert available light to electrons, which can be amplified and converted to yield a visible image. This subheading excludes thermal imaging cameras (generally subheading 852589).
4. Subheading 852712 covers only cassette-players with built-in amplifier, without built-in loudspeaker, capable of operating without an external source of electric power and the dimensions of which do not exceed 170 mm × 100 mm × 45 mm.
5. For the purposes of subheadings 854911 to 854919, ‘spent primary cells, spent primary batteries and spent electric accumulators’ are those which are neither usable as such because of breakage, cutting-up, wear or other reasons, nor capable of being recharged.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for electrical and electronic waste and scrap?
Electrical and electronic waste and scrap fall under HS heading 8549, part of chapter 85, in section XVI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on electrical and electronic waste and scrap in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 8549 from countries without a preferential agreement are free of duty. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on electrical and electronic waste and scrap in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 8549 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 4.7%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most electrical and electronic waste and scrap?
The United States, with US$1.3bn in 2024 (33.8% of world exports).