CBP Grants Classification Change Requested by Domestic Steel Company, Says Section 232 Tariffs Apply
CBP agreed with Steel of West Virginia that the agency previously misclassified steel special profiles in a subheading not subject to the Section 232 tariffs on steel, the agency said in a notice. The company petitioned CBP as a domestic interested party to revise its classification ruling (see 1904020048). CBP received 14 comments on the petition.
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Steel of West Virginia, which makes steel shapes for sale to forklift truck operators, said imported “incomplete steel mast rails and finger bars” were misclassified by the agency. CBP previously classified the items in subheading 8431.20.00 as "parts suitable for use solely or principally with forklifts of heading 8427." The company said the parts should have been classified in subheading 7216.50.00, which covers “Angles, shapes and sections of iron or nonalloy steel: Other angles, shapes and sections, not further worked than hot-rolled, hot-drawn or extruded.” That subheading is duty-free but is covered by the Section 232 tariffs.
Here, CBP found that the imported goods require significant work before becoming a forklift part. "While the subject merchandise may ultimately be destined for incorporation into a forklift, it is not identifiable as such based on its condition as imported," CBP said. "Indeed, to the extent a weldment constitutes a part of a forklift, the profiles have not even assumed the character of a weldment." Because "the subject bars and beams do not have the approximate size or shape of the forklift mast and carriage, or even of the weldment components of the mast and carriage (i.e., they are not identifiable as parts of a lifting mast), they cannot be considered a part of a forklift or a 'blank' of a forklift part," CBP said in the ruling. CBP said the classification decision applies equally to items of German and United Kingdom origin, which were where Steel of West Virginia believed the goods to have come from.
(Federal Register 07/03/19)