Source hierarchy
- Current official HTS and govinfo/Federal Register legal text.
- USTR, CBP, and Commerce official guidance pages.
- CBP rulings for classification examples only.
- Third-party commentary for competitor research only, never source-of-truth claims.
Source registry
Each row names the official source, what Tariff Sentinel reads from it, and the pages built from it, so a claim on any page can be traced back to the document behind it.
USITC HTS
HTS code descriptions, duty columns, notes, revision metadata
Built from this source: Chapter 99 heading index, 4202.92.31 duty columns
Federal Register API
Tariff-related notices and metadata
Built from this source: HTS tariff change log
USTR
Section 301 actions and exclusions
Built from this source: 9903.88.03, 9903.88.69, Section 301 tariff alerts
CBP Trade Remedies
Implementation guidance and trade remedies
Built from this source: AD/CVD risk alerts, 9903.82.23
What happens when sources disagree
When two sources appear to point in different directions, Tariff Sentinel keeps the higher-authority source closest to the claim and downgrades the result to a review note. Federal Register legal text, current HTS language, and official agency guidance take priority over summaries, older pages, or third-party commentary.
The system is intentionally conservative: broad notices, stale references, or product-specific language are shown with caveats instead of being converted into a confident duty answer. That makes the page useful for triage while keeping the final filing decision with the importer, broker, or trade counsel.