Palm oil (HTS heading 1511) is extracted from the fleshy mesocarp of the oil palm fruit and is high in palmitic acid. Palm kernel oil (HTS heading 1513) comes from the hard seed inside the same fruit and has a fatty-acid profile similar to coconut oil — high in lauric acid — making it a functional substitute in confectionery and personal-care applications. The two oils are classified under entirely separate headings and have different commercial uses despite coming from the same plant.

Germany and Portugal are likely acting as processing or re-export hubs: they import crude palm kernel oil from West African or Southeast Asian producers, may perform initial processing, and then re-export to the US. For US importers, the country of origin for duty purposes is the country where the oil was substantially transformed — typically the primary producing country — not the country of export, so origin documentation must be carefully reviewed.