Since de minimis was suspended, every wholesale carton entering the US gets classified — and for home textiles, the classification decision is worth more than most buyers realize. The difference between two adjacent HTS codes on the same pillow cover can be 5–9 percentage points of duty, and on a $20,000 annual import volume that is the difference between a bad quarter and a good one.
This guide maps the codes that cover a home-decor catalog, explains how customs decides between them, and gives you the pre-clearance workflow that removes classification risk before the carton ships. It is practical guidance, not legal advice — for contested or high-volume classifications, a licensed customs broker's written ruling is worth its fee.
The three headings that own home textiles
Almost everything in a table-linens-and-decor catalog lives under Chapter 63 (made-up textile articles):
| HTS heading | Covers | Typical duty (Column 1 General) |
|---|---|---|
| 6302 | Bed and table linen — tablecloths, napkins, placemats, table runners | 7–12% depending on fiber; cotton and man-made fiber subheadings differ |
| 6304 | Other furnishing articles — pillow covers/cushion covers, wall hangings, loose covers for furniture, mosquito nets | 9–12% depending on fiber and knit/woven |
| 6307 | Other made-up articles — the catch-all: fabric gift bags, unclassifiable decor textiles, draft stoppers | ~7% base, varies |
Two classification questions decide everything:
- What is the article? A tablecloth is 6302; a cushion cover is 6304; a textile wall hanging is 6304; a fabric tote bag is not Chapter 63 at all — it's 4202 (travel/bag articles), and the knitted vs woven distinction moves rates within that heading.
- What is the fiber? Cotton, man-made fibers (polyester/nylon/acrylic), silk, and "other vegetable fibers" (linen, jute, ramie) each have their own subheadings with different rates. Man-made-fiber table linen typically lands higher than cotton — which makes the fiber content on your label and your burn test a duty question, not just a compliance one.
Worked examples from a real catalog
| Product | Likely classification | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton-linen tablecloth (60% cotton, 40% linen) | 6302.32 or cotton subheading family | Table linen; predominant-weight fiber rules — cotton and linen are both "vegetable," the cotton share leads |
| PVC-coated polyester tablecloth | 6302.3x man-made fiber (coated fabrics judged by the textile base) | Coating does not change the heading if the textile gives the article its essential character |
| Pleated voile table runner (polyester) | 6302 man-made fiber | Runners are table linen, not 6304 |
| Polyester pillow cover with zipper | 6304.93 (man-made fiber, woven) | Furnishing article, not bedding — no pillow insert means it never touches 9404 |
| Pillow cover with insert, sold as a set | Risk of 9404.90 (bedding articles) | Stuffed furnishings shift headings — the inserts guide distinction is also a customs distinction |
| Flocked Christmas bell hanging ornament (textile) | 6304.99 or 9505.10 (festive articles) | Festive-classification fights are real; textile-dominant decor usually holds 6304 |
| Straw-woven beach tote | 4602 (plaiting materials) if true straw; 4202 if textile | The material IS the classification — "straw-look" polyester is 4202, and misdeclaring it is fraud, not rounding |
| Bamboo-handle cotton tote | 4202.92 (textile bag) | Handles don't change the article's essential character |
| Knitted phone bag / mini crossbody | 4202 knitted subheading | Knit vs woven changes the subheading and the rate |
Notice the pattern: adjacent products classify differently based on structure, fiber, and stuffing. A catalog-wide assumption ("all textiles are 6304, ~10%") will be wrong on a third of your SKUs.
Section 301 and the China layer
Base duty is not the whole number for China-origin goods. Depending on the current List assignments for Chapter 63 articles, Section 301 tariffs can add 7.5–25% on top of the Column 1 rate, and the lists have shifted repeatedly since 2018. Three practical consequences:
- Quote requests must ask for the HS code the factory uses on its export declaration — China-side HS (first 6 digits are globally harmonized; the last digits differ) tells you the 6-digit heading your US broker will work from
- Your landed-cost model needs the current 301 status per heading — this changes by policy cycle; a good DDP supplier prices this in and stands behind the delivered number, which is precisely what DDP means: the duty risk sits with them, not you (the DDP-vs-FOB mechanics are in the cost comparison guide)
- Never accept "we'll declare it as something cheaper" — under-declaration and misclassification to dodge duty is smuggling exposure, and the importer of record inherits it even when the factory proposed it. With every parcel formally entered post-de-minimis (the 2026 import math), inconsistency between your entries is exactly what automated CBP screening flags
The pre-clearance workflow
- Collect the classification inputs per SKU at quote time: fiber percentages (label spec sheet — see the FTC labeling guide), construction (woven/knit/coated/plaited), stuffed or not, festive or everyday
- Ask the supplier for their HS code and a classification statement in writing — factories exporting at scale have already classified every stock SKU; the honest answer takes them one minute
- Cross-check the 6-digit heading against the USITC's public HTS search (hts.usitc.gov) — free, authoritative, and readable by non-lawyers once you know the three questions above
- For anything contested or high-volume: pay a broker for a classification opinion (~$100–250) or, for a genuinely novel product, consider a CBP ruling request (e-CFRulings; free but slow — months). A broker opinion is the right tool for small importers; the binding ruling is for products you'll import for years
- Keep the classification sheet with the PO — when the entry is filed, your broker works from your sheet, not from a guess, and your records survive an audit
What this changes in your buying math
Run the classification before the reorder, not after:
| Scenario | Effect on landed cost |
|---|---|
| Runner classified as 6302 man-made vs assumed "9% decor" | ±3–5 points of duty |
| Pillow cover sold with insert (9404 risk) vs cover only (6304) | Heading change can move both duty and any 301 layer |
| Straw-look polyester tote declared as straw (4602) | Not a savings — it's a penalty case waiting for one customs exam |
| Cotton tablecloth vs polyester tablecloth at retail-identical prices | Cotton frequently lands at lower duty — fiber choice becomes a margin lever, visible in the GSM/weight-class guide as well |
The buyers who treat HTS classification as paperwork lose 3–9% silently. The buyers who treat it as part of product selection price their catalog correctly from the first sample.
Classification checklist for your next order
- Every SKU has: fiber %, construction, stuffed?, festive? — written down
- Supplier's export HS code requested in writing with the quote
- 6-digit heading cross-checked at hts.usitc.gov
- Contested/high-volume SKUs get a broker opinion before the carton ships
- DDP quotes confirm duty is inside the delivered price — and the supplier's classification, not a "cheaper" one, is what gets filed