Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States · HTS code · HS 3821.00
3821.00.00: Prepared culture media for development or maintenance of micro-organisms (including viruses and the like) or of plant, human or animal cells
Prepared culture media
Not declarable on its own: use one of its 2 subdivisions Data: Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States · checked on 24 October 2026
What you pay
Importing into USA
US additional duties of HTS chapter 99 in force on 22 October 2026 are included (Section 301, 232, 338 and 201). IEEPA duties are no longer collected after the Supreme Court ruling of February 2026. Conditional exemptions (US content, end use, metal share) are not computed: check the provision.
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
No additional measures recorded for this origin.
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| General (MFN) | — | 5% |
| US–Australia FTA AU | Australia | Free |
| US–Bahrain FTA BH | Bahrain | Free |
| US–Chile FTA CL | Chile | Free |
| US–Colombia TPA CO | Colombia | Free |
| US–Israel FTA IL | Israel | Free |
| US–Jordan FTA JO | Jordan | Free |
| US–Korea FTA KR | South Korea | Free |
| US–Morocco FTA MA | Morocco | Free |
| US–Oman FTA OM | Oman | Free |
| CAFTA-DR P | Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua | Free |
| US–Panama TPA PA | Panama | Free |
| US–Peru TPA PE | Peru | Free |
| USMCA S | Canada, Mexico | Free |
| US–Singapore FTA SG | Singapore | Free |
| Column 2 | Cuba, North Korea, Russia, Belarus | 25% |
Special: reduced rates under trade agreements and preference programmes; the letters in brackets name the programmes (for example AU = Australia FTA, KR = Korea FTA).
Subdivisions
- 3821.00.00 Prepared culture media for development or maintenance of micro-organisms (including viruses and the like) or of plant, human or animal cells 5%
- 3821.00.00.10 Viral transport media kg
- 3821.00.00.90 Other kg
Same subheading in other tariffs
UK specific or compound duty Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
EU 5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
Türkiye 5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
Canada Free General (MFN) 2 tariff lines 
Mexico 5% General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Brazil 12.6% General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Argentina 12.6% General (MFN) 3 tariff lines 
Peru Free General (MFN) 2 tariff lines 
New Zealand Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Japan 2.5% General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Taiwan 5% General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
GCC 5% General (MFN) 6 tariff lines 
Switzerland Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Norway Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
North Macedonia Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Nigeria Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line Binding rulings for similar goods
Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.
- H338086 U.S. CBP
Tariff classification of a transport medium kit
Legal notes
HTS code 3821.00.00 is a line of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States under HS subheading 3821.00 (prepared culture media for the development or maintenance of micro-organisms).
The general duty is 5%.
2 statistical sub-lines below it are used in the declaration.
For the same subheading, the EU duty is 5%, the Türkiye duty is 5%, the Canada duty is free, the Mexico duty is 5%, the Brazil duty is 12.6%, the Argentina duty is 12.6%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is 2.5%, the Taiwan duty is 5%, the GCC duty is 5%, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is free and the Nigeria duty is free.
The United States imported goods of subheading 3821.00 worth US$306m in 2024; the largest supplier was Canada, and the United Kingdom ranked 3rd with US$48m.
Questions and answers
What is the USA import duty for HTS code 3821.00.00?
The general duty in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is 5%. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Is there a lower rate for 3821.00.00 under US trade agreements?
Yes. The Special column reads “Free (A+,AU, BH, CL, CO,D,E, IL, JO, KR, MA, OM,P, PA, PE,S, SG)”: the letters in brackets name the agreements and programmes that grant it.
Where does the United States import these goods from?
For subheading 3821.00 as a whole, the largest supplier in 2024 was Canada (US$62m), followed by France.