HS Code Detail
640220 Chapter 64 · Footwear Flip-flops and thong sandals, rubber or plastic
Six-digit subheading in Footwear, chapter 64 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 5 destination markets.
Anatomy of 640220
You will declare against a longer local code that begins 640220: ten digits in the United States and the United Kingdom, eight in the European Union, and the first six the same everywhere. Which trailing digits apply is what the 5 rates below differ on.
What this code covers
Import duty by country
MFN duty rate · 5 countries| Country | Duty | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺Australia | 5% | 10% |
| 🇩🇪Germany | 17% | 19% |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | 17% | 23% |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | 16% | 20% |
| 🇺🇸United States | 0% | 0% |
Rates shown are MFN (Most Favoured Nation), the default for WTO members. Preferential FTA rates may be lower with valid proof of origin. Section 301 / anti-dumping surcharges on Chinese-origin goods are not included.
What that costs: 640220 into United States
An illustrative consignment of 640220 invoiced at USD 2,000.00, priced in USD because a threshold is set in the destination's currency and nothing here is converted.
| Goods value on the invoice | USD 2,000.00 |
| International freight | USD 120.00 |
| Cargo insurance | USD 30.00 |
| Value the duty is charged on, FOB basis | USD 2,000.00 |
| Duty at 0% | USD 0.00 |
| United States charges no consumption tax at the border | USD 0.00 |
| Total, before commercial charges | USD 2,150.00 |
And if the consignment were small
United States relieves nothing: the duty free allowance was suspended, so the duty above is charged whatever the consignment is worth. A smaller shipment pays less because the value is lower, not because a threshold spared it.
Selling rather than buying? USD 2,150.00 is what your buyer in United States pays to take delivery of this consignment, yours to pay if you quote DDP and theirs if you quote DAP: Exporting to United States sets out who collects it and what your invoice has to say.
An illustration, not a quotation: broker fees, handling and any trade remedy on the origin sit outside it. Price 640220 on your own numbers in the duty calculator.
How these rates were verified
Rates last verified 7 September 2026Every figure in the table above was read from the official tariff database of the market that charges it, on the date shown. Nothing here is copied from another aggregator.
- 🇺🇸US
- HTS General for 640220 US, read on 2026-09-07 from https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=6402.20 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/exportList?from=64&to=65&format=CSV&styles=false. Both returned 0%. The United States International Trade Commission is the only body that publishes this schedule. The second reading was taken in a different format to check the reading, not to corroborate the schedule, because there is no second schedule to corroborate it against. Retrieved text: 6402.20.00.00 Free
- 🇬🇧GB
- Third country duty for 640220 GB, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/6402200000 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-document-for-the-customs-tariff-establishment-eu-exit-regulations-2020. Both returned 16%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 6402200000 16.00 %
- 🇦🇺AU
- MFN for 640220 AU, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/tariff-classification/current-tariff/schedule-3/section-xii/chapter-64 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04997/latest/text. Both returned 5%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 6402.20.00 5%
- 🇩🇪DE 🇵🇹PT
- One reading covers DE and PT, which are priced from the same schedule: Third country duty (EU, via NI Online Tariff) for 640220 DE, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/xi/commodities/6402200000 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/results?product=640220&origin=CN&destination=DE. Both returned 17%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 6402200000 17.00 %
Markets with no figure recorded
Canada: Canada splits 6402.20 into 3 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 16 to 18%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no Canada figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
Re-check first: The United States line is written around zoris, footwear whose straps or thongs are assembled to the sole by plugs, which is narrower than the everyday sense of a flip-flop. A sandal made any other way falls elsewhere in 6402 and is not covered by this figure.
What falls under 640220
- Footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics, with uppers attached to the sole by plugs
- Flip-flops, thong sandals and jelly shoes made by the plug attachment method
- Beach and poolside footwear moulded in one piece with a toe post anchoring the upper
What's specifically excluded
These look similar but belong under a different code:
Commonly confused with
640419: Textile upper sandals
The upper material decides the heading before the style does. A thong sandal with a fabric strap is textile upper footwear of 6404, not 6402, however similar it looks on a shelf, and the strap rather than the sole is what to examine.
640399: Leather sandals
A leather thonged sandal leaves 6402 entirely for 6403. Heading 6402 is limited to rubber or plastic uppers, so premium sandals in the same shape as a beach flip-flop are usually in a different heading and at a different rate.
Classification & cost note
Subheading 6402.20 is unusually specific: it describes not just the materials but the method of construction, footwear whose uppers are attached to the sole by plugs pushed through holes. That is the classic flip-flop, and it is the only place in the footwear chapter where an assembly technique defines a subheading. Because footwear carries some of the highest rates in the tariff and the chapter divides on upper material first, the single most valuable thing an importer can obtain is a written material breakdown of the upper by external surface area, excluding accessories and reinforcements. That phrase matters: buckles, eyelets and logo patches are disregarded, and the material determination is made on what is left. Footwear also has its own well established labelling rules on material composition in several markets, enforced separately from the customs entry.
Typical products: Beach flip-flops with moulded plugs · Jelly sandals in coloured plastic · Pool and shower thong sandals · Promotional flip-flops in bulk · Moulded EVA thonged slides · Children's plastic beach sandals · Moulded polyurethane pool slides · Contoured arch support thong sandals · Two tone injection moulded flip-flops · Sculpted footbed thong slides · Braided toe post beach sandals
What the notes to section XII say
Chapter 64 sits in section XII, footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking-sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereof; prepared feathers and articles made therewith; artificial flowers; articles of human hair, and the nomenclature publishes no note to that section at all, so the note to chapter 64 is the highest rule over this code; that is the published position rather than a gap here, and the chapter 64 page says the same, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/12 on 2026-09-08.
What the nomenclature says about heading 6402
640220 is a subheading of 6402, other footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics , and it is the only code this site holds under that heading.
No numbered note to chapter 64 takes heading 6402 as its subject, which is what the published notes say rather than a gap on this page: the heading is defined by its own wording above and by the note to the chapter, quoted in full on the chapter 64 page.
Read from the notes to chapter 64 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/64, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/6402, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 64 page. These notes are part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so the rule is the same whichever destination a shipment is going to, and it decides classification and never a rate.
Questions about 640220
What makes this subheading different from other sandals?
It names a construction method. The uppers are attached to the sole by plugs pushed through holes, which is the traditional flip-flop assembly, and it is the only place in the footwear chapter where an assembly technique defines a subheading.
Does a fabric strap change the code?
Yes, and it changes the heading. Footwear with textile uppers falls in heading 6404, not 6402, so a thong sandal with a fabric strap is classified quite differently from an all plastic one.
How is the upper material determined?
By the greatest external surface area of the upper, disregarding accessories and reinforcements such as buckles, eyelets and logo patches. A written breakdown from the manufacturer on that basis is the document that settles disputes.
Does a heel strap change the subheading?
It can. This subheading describes uppers attached by plugs, the traditional flip-flop assembly. A sandal with a back strap is usually assembled differently and falls elsewhere in heading 6402, so the construction rather than the silhouette decides it.
Related codes in Chapter 64
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