U.S. imports of Other Optical Measuring & Checking Instruments and Machines (NESOI) (HS 903149) totaled $153.2M in August 2026, imported from 57 countries.
Importers of Other Optical Measuring & Checking Instruments and Machines (NESOI) paid $16.5M in duties in August 2026, an average duty rate of 10.79% — duty actually collected as a share of the imports that cleared customs, not the published tariff schedule. Other Optical Measuring & Checking Instruments and Machines (NESOI) imports of $153.2M in August 2026 ran 12% above the year-to-date monthly average of $136.6M.
Last updated: August 2026 dataProfile projectors, coordinate-measuring machines with optical sensing, and a broad residual category of optical checking appliances all land here when they fall outside the semiconductor-specific heading. The five 10-digit lines span profile projectors (9031491000), optical coordinate-measuring machines (9031494000), mask inspection instruments excluding photomasks (9031497000), and two NESOI catch-all lines (9031498000 and 9031499000) that capture specialty metrology tools used in aerospace, automotive, and precision manufacturing. Japan and Germany dominate US supply, consistent with their leadership in precision optical engineering. Goods from Canada and Mexico may benefit from USMCA preferential treatment where rules-of-origin requirements are met.
AI-written summary of the official U.S. Census Bureau trade figures on this page — verify before relying on it.
4.6K import shipments a month
A profile projector magnifies and projects a silhouette of a workpiece onto a screen for manual or semi-automatic comparison against a template — it does not inherently compute three-dimensional coordinates. An optical coordinate-measuring machine uses optical sensing to determine precise X-Y-Z coordinates of a part's surface features and outputs dimensional data digitally. The distinction matters because the two lines carry different statistical reporting requirements and may have different duty treatment.
A laser flatness or surface-profile checker that is optical in nature but not dedicated to semiconductor wafer, photomask, or reticle inspection would typically fall under the NESOI lines 9031498000 or 9031499000, depending on its specific configuration. If it incorporates coordinate-measuring functionality, 9031494000 may apply instead. A binding ruling from CBP is the most reliable path when the instrument straddles multiple descriptions.
Subheading 2 of 6 in heading 9031
Subheading 903149 · $153.2M of $712.0M
Trade Directory
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HS10 import codes under this HS6 parent, each with its own page. Source: U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
| Code | Description | Imports for consumption | Average duty rate | Dutiable Share | Duty Collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9031499000 | Other Optical Instruments and Appliances, NESOI | $132.0M | 11.05% | 76.76% | $14.6M |
| 9031494000 | Coordinate-Measuring Mach for Optical Inst & Appl | $19.5M | 9.25% | 75.82% | $1.8M |
| 9031491000 | Profile Projectors | $1.2M | 10.18% | 88.00% | $126K |
| 9031497000 | Optical Instr for Inspecting Masks(Ex Photomasks) | $350K | 0.00% | 0.00% | -- |
HS10 export codes under this HS6 parent, each with its own page. Source: U.S. Schedule B export classification.
| Code | Description | Export Value |
|---|---|---|
| 9031498000 | Optical Instruments and Appliances NESOI | $56.9M |
| 9031494000 | Coordinate-Measuring Mach for Optical Inst & Appl | $8.5M |
| 9031491000 | Profile Projectors | $2.3M |
Import lines come from the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule and export lines from Schedule B. The two are numbered by different agencies, so the same 10-digit code can appear in both tables describing a different product.
Imports · August 2026
origin
Japan and Germany together supply 42% of it. China pays 31.7% duty; Mexico 0.3%.
customs district
destination
entry
rate provision · imports
22.3% enters free of duty; duty collected equals 10.79% of imports for consumption.
ImportsExports
Imports
$153.2MYoY · free account
Exports
$67.7MYoY · free account
12-mo low · imports
Low · free accountOver the twelve months to August 2026, the U.S. imported $1.6B of Other Optical Measuring & Checking Instruments and Machines (NESOI) and exported $900.4M.
Through August 2026. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.