U.S. imports of Industrial Soap & Surface-Active Products in Bar or Cake Form (SITC 55415) totaled $38.4M in August 2026, imported from 50 countries.
Importers of Industrial Soap & Surface-Active Products in Bar or Cake Form paid $3.8M in duties in August 2026, an average duty rate of 9.92% — duty actually collected as a share of the imports that cleared customs, not the published tariff schedule. Industrial Soap & Surface-Active Products in Bar or Cake Form imports of $38.4M in August 2026 ran 17% above the year-to-date monthly average of $32.8M.
Last updated: August 2026 dataBars, cakes, and molded shapes of soap or organic surface-active material intended for industrial or institutional use — not personal hygiene — fall here, along with paper, wadding, felt, or nonwovens impregnated or coated with soap or detergent. The non-toilet-use distinction is the critical classification boundary: products marketed or formulated for personal cleansing shift to a different heading. Formulators and private-label manufacturers sourcing bulk industrial bar soap should confirm the end-use designation in documentation to avoid misclassification at entry.
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1.9K import shipments a month
Classification hinges on the product's intended end-use and formulation: industrial or institutional bar soap designed for hand-washing machinery, cleaning equipment, or laundry applications falls under this heading, while soap marketed for personal hygiene or packaged as a cosmetic is classified elsewhere. Labeling, product data sheets, and the importer's commercial invoice should clearly state the industrial or non-toilet end-use.
Yes — paper, wadding, felt, and nonwoven substrates that are impregnated or coated with soap or detergent and are not intended for toilet use are explicitly covered here. The substrate material itself does not change the classification as long as the soap or detergent is the functional component.
Basic heading 108 of 465 in section 5
Basic heading 55415 · $38.4M of $27.5B
Imports · August 2026
origin
China and South Korea together supply 59% of it. China pays 13.0% duty; Mexico 0.0%.
customs district
Census does not publish district detail for this classification system.
destination
Census does not publish state detail for this classification system.
entry
Census does not publish port detail for this classification system.
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ImportsExports
Imports
$38.4MYoY · free account
Exports
$6.6MYoY · free account
12-mo low · imports
Low · free accountOver the twelve months to August 2026, the U.S. imported $377.9M of Industrial Soap & Surface-Active Products in Bar or Cake Form and exported $68.9M.
Through August 2026. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.