US imports of Orthopedic appliances, including crutches

US imports under HTS 9021 at a glance

Between March and July 2026, US importers entered $7.41 billion of orthopedic appliances, including crutches under HTS heading 9021, from 49 of the 55 origin countries covered here and across 13 ten-digit tariff lines — roughly $1.48 billion a month of customs value under a single four-digit heading.

The heading belongs to chapter 90, optical, photographic, measuring and medical instruments. Classification disputes in this range usually turn on the six-digit subheading, which is where the rates start to diverge.

Who exports orthopedic appliances, including crutches to the United States

Ireland is the largest origin with $2.61 billion, or 35.2% of the heading, with Switzerland at 10.8% and Denmark at 9.5%. The top three take 55.5% between them — enough concentration to matter when one origin's duty treatment changes, but not so much that a buyer has no alternative to qualify.

Mexico sits near the top of the table, and the duty numbers reflect it: Mexico entered 96% 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

Most of this heading enters duty-free. Only 13.2% of the entered value was dutiable, and across all origins CBP collected $98.3 million — about $1.33 of duty per $100 of goods. The headline rate on the dutiable portion was 10%, but it applies to a small slice, so the number that matters to a landed-cost model is the $1.33.

The spread between origins is real. Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, China paid the most duty relative to value — $4.15 per $100 — while Singapore paid $0.03. On a $250,000 purchase order that gap is about $10,000 in duty alone, which is worth pricing into a sourcing decision rather than discovering on the entry summary.

The 10-digit lines under heading 9021

13 ten-digit lines carried trade under this heading in the period. The largest, 9021.39.00.00, took 25.5% of the heading at $1.89 billion. 9021.31.00.00, 9021.40.00.00 and 9021.50.00.00 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 $1.33 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: Ireland (9021.39.00), Switzerland (9021.50.00) and Denmark (9021.40.00). 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 numbers above are a starting point, not the answer for a specific shipment: the rate depends on the exact 10-digit line, the origin, and any trade-agreement claim you can substantiate. Airlift USA arranges the ocean and air movement and coordinates classification and entry filing through our licensed broker network.

For the operational side rather than the tariff side, see the Medical Devices Logistics Guide guide for how this cargo moves, the China to USA lane for transit times and ports and the heading index to compare against the rest of chapter 90.