HTS heading 6109 · Chapter 61, Apparel, knitted or crocheted
US imports of T-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments
T-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
US imports under HTS 6109 at a glance
Between March and July 2026, US importers entered $2.07 billion of t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments under HTS heading 6109, from all 55 origin countries covered here and across 35 ten-digit tariff lines — roughly $414 million a month of customs value under a single four-digit heading.
Chapter 61 covers apparel, knitted or crocheted; heading 6109 is one of its larger entries by value, which is why the duty treatment below is worth checking line by line.
Top origin countries by share of HTS 6109
Origin countries: value, share and duty paid
| Origin | Import value | Share | Dutiable share | Effective duty | Duty per $100 | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honduras | $276 million | 13.3% | 3.5% | 27.41% | $0.94 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
| Vietnam | $267 million | 12.9% | 100% | 30.15% | $30.15 | Duty on 6109.10.00 Vietnam lane |
| Bangladesh | $257 million | 12.4% | 100% | 24.59% | $24.59 | Duty on 6109.10.00 Bangladesh lane |
| Mexico | $184 million | 8.9% | 4.1% | 35.39% | $1.44 | |
| Guatemala | $148 million | 7.2% | 25.5% | 20.74% | $5.28 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
| China | $144 million | 6.9% | 99.9% | 37.20% | $37.14 | Duty on 6109.10.00 China lane |
| India | $136 million | 6.6% | 100% | 26.67% | $26.67 | Duty on 6109.10.00 India lane |
| Dominican Republic | $134 million | 6.5% | 7.6% | 26.67% | $2.04 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
| Peru | $105 million | 5.1% | 96.2% | 10.68% | $10.27 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
| Indonesia | $67.0 million | 3.2% | 99.7% | 29.91% | $29.82 | Duty on 6109.10.00 Indonesia lane |
| Pakistan | $65.5 million | 3.2% | 99.8% | 26.91% | $26.87 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
| Cambodia | $64.1 million | 3.1% | 100% | 32.72% | $32.72 | Duty on 6109.10.00 Cambodia lane |
| Egypt | $59.3 million | 2.9% | 5.8% | 31.90% | $1.85 | Duty on 6109.90.10 |
| Italy | $44.5 million | 2.1% | 95.4% | 26.87% | $25.64 | Duty on 6109.10.00 Italy lane |
| Portugal | $29.2 million | 1.4% | 96.3% | 27.57% | $26.57 | Duty on 6109.10.00 |
Who exports t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments to the United States
No single country owns this heading. Honduras is the largest origin at 13.3% ($276 million), but the top three combined reach only 38.6% and 55 origins ship into the heading at all. Sourcing this spread out usually means the specification is broadly available and switching origins is a commercial decision rather than an engineering one.
Mexico sits near the top of the table, and the duty numbers reflect it: Mexico entered 95.9% of its value free of duty. Cargo that qualifies under USMCA and is claimed correctly at entry pays nothing; cargo that does not qualify, or that is never claimed, pays the ordinary rate. The certification is the whole difference.
What importers actually paid in duty
Duty treatment is split. 64% of the entered value was dutiable and the rest came in free, usually under a trade agreement or a duty-free provision in the tariff schedule. CBP collected $361 million in all, an effective 27.3% on the dutiable value and $17.45 per $100 of goods once the free entries are counted.
The spread between origins is real. Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, China paid the most duty relative to value — $37.14 per $100 — while Honduras paid $0.94. On a $250,000 purchase order that gap is about $91,000 in duty alone, which is worth pricing into a sourcing decision rather than discovering on the entry summary.
10-digit tariff lines under HTS 6109
| HTS code | Description | Import value | Share | Duty per $100 | Largest origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6109.10.00.12 | Of cotton | $720 million | 34.8% | $13.80 | Bangladesh |
| 6109.10.00.40 | Of cotton | $222 million | 10.7% | $19.22 | Guatemala |
| 6109.90.10.07 | Of man-made fibers | $159 million | 7.7% | $16.84 | Honduras |
| 6109.10.00.04 | Of cotton | $137 million | 6.6% | $12.70 | Dominican Republic |
| 6109.10.00.27 | Of cotton | $119 million | 5.8% | $17.48 | Bangladesh |
| 6109.10.00.60 | Of cotton | $111 million | 5.3% | $23.27 | Vietnam |
| 6109.90.10.50 | Of man-made fibers | $96.3 million | 4.7% | $21.57 | Mexico |
| 6109.10.00.14 | Of cotton | $93.0 million | 4.5% | $15.04 | Honduras |
| 6109.90.10.65 | Of man-made fibers | $74.3 million | 3.6% | $34.92 | Vietnam |
| 6109.10.00.70 | Of cotton | $57.8 million | 2.8% | $21.64 | Vietnam |
| 6109.90.10.49 | Of man-made fibers | $42.1 million | 2% | $15.38 | Egypt |
| 6109.10.00.45 | Of cotton | $38.6 million | 1.9% | $16.44 | Guatemala |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
The 10-digit lines under heading 6109
35 ten-digit lines carried trade under this heading in the period. The largest, 6109.10.00.12 (of cotton), took 34.8% of the heading at $720 million. 6109.10.00.40, 6109.90.10.07 and 6109.10.00.04 follow. Rates diverge between those lines, so the classification your broker files is worth checking against the goods rather than carried over from the last entry.
What the duty stack looks like
The rate on an entry is not one number. It is a stack: the general (column 1) rate for the 10-digit line, less any trade-agreement preference the goods qualify for, plus whatever additional duties apply to that product and origin, all applied to the customs value declared. The $17.45 per $100 above is what that stack averaged across every entry in this heading — a benchmark, not a quote.
For the origins carrying the most volume, the per-country breakdowns go a level deeper: Honduras (6109.10.00), Vietnam (6109.10.00) and Bangladesh (6109.10.00). To price a specific shipment, put your 10-digit code and country of origin into the tariff simulator.
What this means for your next shipment
The practical sequence is: confirm the 10-digit line against the actual goods, confirm origin under the substantial-transformation rules rather than the shipping address, then price the duty on that pair. Airlift USA moves the cargo and coordinates classification and entry filing through our licensed broker network, so the code agreed at booking is the one on the entry.
For the operational side rather than the tariff side, see the Textiles & Apparel Commodities guide for how this cargo moves, the Vietnam to USA lane for transit times and ports and the heading index to compare against the rest of chapter 61.
Price a shipment under HTS 6109
Airlift USA has moved ocean and air freight into the United States since 1999 and coordinates HTS classification, ISF and entry filing through our licensed broker network.
Methodology
Figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's international trade statistics for imports for consumption — the customs value of goods entered into US commerce, not shipments in transit or goods held in bonded warehouses. The period is March–July 2026 (5 months of data), and coverage is limited to 55 major origin countries, so totals here are lower than published US-wide totals for the same heading.
Three quantities are additive and everything else is derived from them: entered customs value, dutiable value and calculated duty. Effective duty is calculated duty divided by dutiable value — the rate CBP actually applied to the part of the trade that was dutiable. Dutiable share is dutiable value divided by entered value; below 20% it means the trade entered mostly free, under a trade agreement or a duty-free provision. Duty per $100 spreads calculated duty across all entered value, which is the figure comparable between origins.
Chapter 98 and chapter 99 are excluded: those are special classification and temporary-measure provisions rather than product headings. Heading and tariff-line descriptions are the current HTS text. Values are historical and reflect duty as calculated at the time of entry; they are not a quote and not a prediction of the rate on a future shipment.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value. Census data is a work of the US government and is in the public domain.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries export the most t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments to the United States?
Honduras is the largest origin under HTS heading 6109, with $276 million entered between March and July 2026, or 13.3% of the heading. Vietnam follows at 12.9% and Bangladesh at 12.4%. Figures cover the 55 major origin countries in this dataset. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online / International Trade API, imports for consumption, March–July 2026; effective duty = calculated duty ÷ dutiable value.
How much import duty is paid on t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments under HTS 6109?
Across all origins, 64% of the entered value was dutiable and CBP calculated $361 million of duty over the five months — an effective 27.3% on dutiable value, or about $17.45 per $100 of goods across the whole heading. Your own rate depends on the exact 10-digit line and country of origin.
Which HTS codes fall under heading 6109?
Heading 6109 covers t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted. 35 ten-digit lines recorded imports in this period; the largest by value were 6109.10.00.12, 6109.10.00.40, 6109.90.10.07 and 6109.10.00.04. Duty rates differ between those lines, so the 10-digit classification matters more than the heading.
Which origin pays the lowest duty on t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments?
Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, Honduras paid the least duty relative to entered value — about $0.94 per $100 of goods, with 96.5% of its value entering free. Duty is only one part of landed cost, and a claim has to be substantiated at entry to be allowed.
How do I check the duty on my own shipment?
Use the Airlift USA tariff simulator with your 10-digit HTS code and country of origin to see the duty stack that applies today, then confirm the classification before you file. Airlift USA coordinates classification and entry filing through our licensed broker network and can review the code against your product specification.