TariffsChart
Server Details
US HTS duty lookup and import-duty review with official sources and explicit unresolved layers.
- Status
- Healthy
- Uptime
- 100.0% over 24 days
- Last Tested
- Transport
- Streamable HTTP · MCP 2025-11-25
- URL
- ChatGPT
- –
- Claude
- –
TDQS
Scored across 2 tools
The two tools have clearly distinct purposes: lookup_hts_base_rate retrieves a base MFN rate only, while review_import_duty evaluates a full duty stack with subtotals and unresolved inputs. Their descriptions explicitly delineate boundaries, preventing misselection.
Both tool names follow a consistent snake_case verb_noun pattern (lookup_hts_base_rate, review_import_duty). The convention is uniform and predictable.
Only two tools exist for a tariff domain that typically involves classification, rate lookup, additional duty layers, and final calculation. While the pair covers a narrow slice, the count feels thin for the server's apparent scope.
The set covers base rate lookup and a duty stack review, but notable operations are missing: HTS code search/classification, retrieval of additional duty layers (e.g., Section 301), and actual duty calculation. These gaps would likely force agents to work around the surface for end-to-end tariff determination.
Available Tools
2 toolslookup_hts_base_rateLook up a US HTS base duty rateARead-onlyIdempotentInspect
Look up a fresh simple MFN general duty field from TariffsChart’s USITC HTS data. Includes source revision, date and excluded layers. Base-only: never treat this as the final import tariff. Complex or stale rates may be unavailable; use review_import_duty for quantity-based duties.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| hsCode | Yes | US HTS code with 8 or 10 digits; dots are optional. This tool does not classify product descriptions. |
TDQS
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
Annotations already cover the safety profile (readOnly, idempotent, non-destructive, openWorld), so the description correctly focuses on behavior instead: freshness, that the result includes source revision and date, and the availability caveat for complex/stale codes. It does not cover auth requirements or rate limits, leaving a small gap.
Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.
Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
Three compact sentences, front-loaded with the purpose before the caveats and routing. Slightly jargon-dense ('excluded layers', 'MFN general duty field') but no sentence is filler.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
No output schema exists, so the description carries the burden of describing returns, and it does so partially (source revision, date, excluded layers) while clearly bounding the numeric meaning of the rate. The remaining gap is only the exact response shape.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
With only one parameter and 100% schema description coverage (pattern, dot-optional formats, and the 'does not classify product descriptions' note), the schema does the heavy lifting. The description adds no hsCode-specific syntax or format detail beyond that, so the baseline of 3 applies.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
States a specific verb (look up) and resource (US HTS / MFN general duty rate) and immediately scopes it as 'base-only', which distinguishes it from the sibling review_import_duty tool. An agent can tell the two apart without opening either schema.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
Explicitly names the alternative and the selecting condition: 'use review_import_duty for quantity-based duties.' It also gives a strong when-not rule ('never treat this as the final import tariff') and flags that complex or stale rates may be unavailable.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.
review_import_dutyReview duty layers for imports into the USBRead-onlyIdempotentInspect
Review an import duty stack with official sources, known subtotals, missing inputs and unresolved applicability. Provide the real USD customs value and entry date. Unknowns stay unresolved; user review states are scenario assumptions. Do not infer a final duty from a known subtotal.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| pairs | No | ||
| areaM2 | No | ||
| dozens | No | ||
| hsCode | Yes | US HTS code with 8 or 10 digits; dots are optional. This tool does not classify product descriptions. | |
| origin | Yes | Origin country ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code, e.g. CN, MX, IN. Destination is always the US. | |
| quantity | No | ||
| volumeM3 | No | ||
| entryDate | Yes | Entry date YYYY-MM-DD, or exact timestamp with offset for legal cutovers. Date-only is interpreted by the upstream resolver at noon New York time. | |
| loadedDate | No | ||
| adcvdStatus | No | ||
| netWeightKg | No | ||
| quotaStatus | No | ||
| usmcaStatus | No | ||
| customsValue | Yes | Actual customs value in USD; required, with no example fallback. | |
| volumeLiters | No | ||
| safeguardStatus | No | ||
| section232Status | No | ||
| caftaDrTextileStatus | No | ||
| otherChapter99Status | No | ||
| chinaSection301Status | No | ||
| productExemptionStatus | No |
TDQS
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
Annotations already declare readOnly, idempotent, open-world and non-destructive, so safety is covered. The description usefully adds behavioral constraints beyond them: unknowns stay unresolved, user review states are treated as scenario assumptions, and subtotals must not be extrapolated to a final duty. It does not describe the response shape or error behavior, so it exceeds the annotation baseline only modestly.
Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.
Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
Four sentences, front-loaded with purpose and then the operating rules, with essentially no filler. The density of domain jargon is high, but every sentence contributes a distinct instruction or constraint.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
For a 21-parameter tool with no output schema and 19% schema coverage, the description is too thin: it never explains what the 'duty stack' review returns, how the status enums feed the result, or how unresolved layers surface. The behavioral rules it does give are valuable but do not close the gap for a tool of this complexity.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
Schema description coverage is only 19% across 21 parameters, so the description must carry the burden and largely fails to. It names customsValue and entryDate but omits hsCode and origin (both required) and says nothing about the nine status enums (section232Status, usmcaStatus, chinaSection301Status, etc.) or the measurement fields that drive the review.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
The description states a specific verb and resource ('Review an import duty stack') and enumerates the components it handles (official sources, known subtotals, missing inputs, unresolved applicability). It is clear what the tool does, but it never names or distinguishes itself from the sibling lookup_hts_base_rate, so an agent must infer the boundary between base-rate lookup and full-stack review.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
There are real usage rules - required inputs ('Provide the real USD customs value and entry date') and an exclusion ('Do not infer a final duty from a known subtotal') - plus the treatment of unknowns. However, it gives no explicit when-to-use vs the sibling tool or any other alternative, leaving routing to inference.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.
Tool Schema Changelog
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
2 tool updates
- First observed
lookup_hts_base_rate - First observed
review_import_duty
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