Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for Sept. 24
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 24 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H300448: Ruling Request; eligibility for duty-free treatment as temporary importations under bond
| Ruling: The steps taken to assemble the components into a mirror constitutes a process for purposes of subheading 9813.00.05. |
| Issue: Whether the mirrors are eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9813.00.05 as temporary importations under bond. |
| Item: Mirrored glass from China, initially unframed of over 929 square centimeters. The mirror glass will be cut to proper size in China and imported in crates to the United States. The importer will add a frame, steel backing and a hanging mechanism to each piece of mirror glass. Bobrick will then export the completed mirrors in crates to Saudi Arabia. |
| Reason: Component parts imported for the purpose of assembly with other parts into a finished article constitute a "processing" as required for classification under 9813.00.05. The importer plans to import component parts, assemble them into a finished article and then export completed merchandise to a foreign country. |
| Ruling Date: Sept. 24, 2021 |
H320225: Country of Origin of Flower Bouquets
| Ruling: The country of origin of each flower in the bouquets. Specifically, the country of origin is Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States. The bouquets cannot be marked "assembled in the USA," and must be marked to indicate Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States as the countries of origin. |
| Issue: What is the country of origin of the flower bouquets? |
| Item: Fresh cut flowers imported in bulk from South America, North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Once the flowers are received at the USA Bouquet facility in the United States, they are inspected by Quality Control and then go to the Work in Process area where the flowers are segregated and set up in conveyor machines to be made into assorted mixed flower bouquets. The flower bouquets are then distributed to mass market chains, large supermarkets, and e-commerce fulfillment accounts nationally. |
| Reason: The process of making the flower bouquets consists of simply putting the different flowers together. This simple process does not substantially transform the flower bouquets into products of the United States. The created flower bouquet does not have a distinctive name, character or use different from the unassembled fresh cut flowers. |
| Ruling Date: Sept. 21, 2021 |
H293258: Request for a Ruling; Computer Numerical Control (“CNC”) Lathes; Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB); 9813.00.05; Duty Deferral under NAFTA and USMCA
| Ruling: The proposed modifications to the CNC Lathes is a processing, such that the components described above are eligible for temporary importation under bond (TIB) treatment under subheading 9813.00.05. In addition, the goods are subject to the NAFTA and USMCA duty deferral restrictions, and a consumption entry must be filed upon export to Canada or Mexico, and the “lesser of” duties and fees must be paid |
| Issue: Whether EMAG’s proposed modifications for its CNC Lathes qualifies for entry under subheading 9813.00.05 as temporary imports under bond. Whether EMAG’s CNC Lathes are subject to the NAFTA and USMCA lesser of duty rule. |
| Item: Turning/finishing CNC vertical lathes, fully functional as imported from China and Germany. Upon importation into the United States, the lathes will be modified in one of three ways to accommodate customers in Mexico and Canada. First, in order to comply with workplace safety requirements, the importer may add equipment such as fences, guarding, and/or ladders to the lathes. Second, electrical components including electronic breakers sometimes must be added to make sure that the machinery meets the applicable standards of the country in which the customer is located. Third, the importer tailors the machine to the customer’s specific requirements. It will either receive the required chuck and tooling from the customer (which is located in Canada or Mexico) or purchase it itself and add it to the machine and program the machine in the United States. |
| Reason: Because the CNC Lathes will be exported to Canada or Mexico, if the modifications to the CNC machines qualify as a processing, then the CNC Lathes fall under the exemption from the NAFTA or USCMA lesser of duty rule. In this case, the addition of specialized parts, such as chucks, and the addition of safety or electrical equipment requisite for the customer’s use of the lathes is a “process” within the meaning of subheading 9813.00.05. The lathes are goods subject to NAFTA and USMCA drawback and duty deferral restrictions. The machines are not in “same condition” and the duty deferral provisions apply. Accordingly, a consumption entry must be filed once the TIB is closed. |
| Ruling Date: Sept. 13, 2021 |
H312437: USMCA Eligibility; Stator Assembly; Country of Origin; Marking; 19 U.S.C. § 1304; Trade Remedy Section 301 Duties
| Ruling: The stator assembly qualifies for USMCA treatment. The stator assembly is a product of the U.S. for marking purposes and is exempt from marking requirements. Section 301 tariffs do not apply. |
| Issue: The USMCA eligibility and marking requirments for the stator assembly, and whether it is subject to Section 301 tariffs on products from China. |
| Item: A four-pole type stator assembly presently being processed in Mexico and imported into the United States. It is currently exported to the United States as a Chinese product, which is assembled in Mexico. The stator assembly will be used as a part of an electric auxiliary hydraulic pump motor for the Boeing 737 aircraft. The finished stator assembly consists of an elaborate electric stator stack of U.S. origin, and other materials that originate in the USMCA territory with one exception. Near the end of the assembly process, a Chinese origin metal housing is installed on the stator assembly to provide protection to the electric stator. |
| Reason: The stator assembly does not meet the relevant USMCA tariff shift rule, but it satisfies USMCA regional value content requirements. For marking purposes, of the parts that do not undergo the applicable tariff shift requirement, the U.S,-origin stator stack is the item which contributes the main function of the finished stator assembly, which is to provide a magnetic field that drives the rotor of the electric motor. For country of origin purposes, the stator stack imparts the essence to the finished product. Since the stator stack is of U.S. origin, we hold that the country of origin of the stator assembly unit for Section 301 trade-remedy duties is the United States. |
| Ruling Date: Aug. 25, 2021 |
H301877: Application for Further Review Protest No. 3029-16-100024; Tariff classification of HamiltonJet, Inc.’s 521 Transition Steel Platform and 521 Transition Aluminum Platform
| Ruling. The articles are to be classified as articles of steel under heaidng 7306, or as articles aluminum under heading 7616, depending on the material they are made of. |
| Issue: Is the 521 Transition properly classified under heading 7306 (if made of steel), which provides for “Other articles of iron or steel," or alternatively under heading 7616 (if made of aluminum), which provides for “Other articles of aluminum," or heading 8412 (whether made of steel or aluminum), which provides for “Other engines and motors, and parts thereof?" |
| Item: The 521 Transition (also referred to herein as “521T”) is a metal platform that is shaped to be welded to the hull of a boat after importation to serve as a support platform for a HamiltonJet, Inc. Waterjet. The Waterjet functions as part of a hydrojet engine. The 521T is made of either cast aluminum or steel. The Waterjet is assembled on top of the 521T after the 521T is welded in place. The 521T has a “water intake duct”, which is a raised and angled opening in the 521T, through which the water is pulled into the Waterjet via the operation of the Waterjet. The dimensions of the 521T are 93” x 40” and it weighs 445 pounds. |
| Reason: The Waterjet is a complete article onto itself and does not require the 521T to function as designed, and the 521T is not an integral or constituent part of the Waterjet. The 521T’s water intake duct is merely a conduit through which the Waterjet pulls water; it serves no operating function and merely serves as a platform for the Waterjet. Given the foregoing, the 521T is not a part of an engine of heading 8412. |
| Ruling Date: July 22, 2021 |
H313149: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3001-20-102229; Eligibility of polypropylene bags for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (“PANTPA”)
| Ruling: The polypropylene bags are not eligible for PANTPA treatment. |
| Issue: Whether the polypropylene bags are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the PANTPA. |
| Item: Five styles of polypropylene bags used to transport, carry, and store grass seeds commercially. The bags are made of clear woven fabric made from polypropylene strip less than 5mm in width, classified in heading 5407; translucent sheeting classified in Chapter 39; Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (“BOPP”) film classified in heading 3920; and sewing thread classified in heading 5509, all from Vietnam. These raw materials are shipped from Vietnam to Panama for cutting and assembly. The final product is shipped directly to the United States from Panama. |
| Reason: The polypropylene fabric, classified in heading 5407, BOPP colored film and the translucent sheeting, both classified in Chapter 39, all from Vietnam, are non-originating materials that have to undergo an applicable change in tariff classification. Since the PANTPA rules of origin do not allow a change to heading 6305 from Chapter 54, the tariff shift rule is not met. Therefore, the polypropylene bags are not originating goods under the PANTPA. |
| Ruling Date: July 16, 2021 |
H311606: Country of Origin of the Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 Drawing Tablet; Section 301 Measures
| Ruling: The country of origin of the drawing tablets is Taiwan, and in accordance with the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, it must be marked to indicate that its country of origin is Taiwan. As the merchandise is not a product of China, for the purposes of the application of subheading 9903.88.03, Section 301 measures do not apply. |
| Issue: What is the country of origin of the subject Cintiq 16 drawing tablet? |
| Item: A multifunctional device that has a liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch screen that operates only in conjunction with automatic data processing (ADP) machines. The keypad board, scaler board, and sensor control board will be produced in Taiwan. Chinese-origin back-cover and front-cover modules will be shipped to Taiwan together with the stylus pen, pen holder, AC adaptor, and a power cable. In addition, the following three bare Printed Circuit Boards (“PCBs”) (bare SCB PCB, bare scaler board PCB, and bare keypad board PCB) will be shipped to Taiwan for further manufacturing into the finished PCBAs through surface mount technology. In Taiwan, the SMT processes will be used to populate each of the bare PCB’s boards with the various electronic components so that they will become fully built PCBAs. Upon completion of the SMT processes, Japanese-origin WTC tablet firmware will be installed on the SCB and Taiwanese-origin scaler board firmware will be installed on the scaler board. |
| Reason: Both the Chinese and Taiwanese components of the tablet play a vital role in the functions that allow the user to create images that can be electronically displayed on a screen. The most significant work in manufacturing of the tablet is performed in Taiwan. |
| Ruling Date: June 16, 2021 |
H312674: Country of Origin of an F-Clamp; Substantial Transformation
| Ruling: The country of origin of the F-clamps is South Korea. |
| Issue: What is the country of origin of the F-clamps? |
| Item: Hand tool known as the F-clamp because of its shape. It is commonly used in woodworking to temporarily clamp pieces of wood together until more permanent attachments, e.g. screws, can be applied or while glue is allowed to dry. The clamp body and adjustable vertical arm are made using steel bars sourced from China. The steel bars are shipped to South Korea to make two pieces. The first piece is forged into an “L” shape with a fixed flat jaw of the F-clamp. The second straight steel bar piece (roughly the length of the short side of the “L” piece) is formed into the moveable and adjustable arm of the F-clamp. These two pieces are then shipped to China where they are further machined, polished, heat-treated, and plated. In addition, a Chinese-origin threaded screw that incorporates a vertically inserted steel bar (handle), and swivel tightening component are added to complete the adjustable clamping mechanism. A square and round hole are punched into the adjustable arm, and the round hole is threaded. |
| Reason: The South Korean clamp jaw forgings constitute the fundamental components of the finished F-clamps because they are responsible for holding the pieces of wood in place until they can be more permanently fastened together. When the forgings are exported from South Korea to China, they are formed to their final shape and resemble the finished F-clamps, and the jaw forgings have a pre-determined use in the production of F-clamps because they are only intended for use as an immediate stage in the production of finished F-clamps. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 24, 2021 |