Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings Feb. 19
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Feb. 19 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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H337731: Application for Further Review of Protest Number 4601-21-128657; Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People’s Republic of China; Antidumping Duties; A-570-051; Countervailing Duties; C-570-052; Extension of Liquidation; 19 U.S.C. § 1504(b); Deemed Liquidation; 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d)
| Ruling: Taraca’s entries did not deem liquidation pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d). CBP’s Jan. 22, 2021 liquidation of Taraca’s entries was timely and proper. |
| Issue: Whether Taraca’s entries deemed liquidated per 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d). |
| Item: Taraca Pacific's hardwood plywood from China |
| Reason: Based on the entry supporting documentation, Linyi Linhai Wood is the producer of the subject plywood. Accordingly, CBP could not have liquidated Taraca’s entries pursuant to these instructions as it was directed to continue suspending liquidation of Taraca’s entries given that Linhai was the producer. The Department of Commerce also expressly directed CBP to liquidate Linhai’s entries, and thus, these are the operative liquidation instructions applicable to Taraca’s entries. Furthermore, notwithstanding CBP’s extension of liquidation of Taraca’s entries, CBP noted that CBP liquidated the entries on Jan. 22, 2021, which was within 90 days after the scheduled deemed liquidation date of Jan. 2, 2021. Accordingly, even if the entries had deemed, which they did not, CBP’s liquidation also constituted a timely voluntary reliquidation within 90 days of the deemed liquidation date. |
| Ruling Date: Dec. 18, 2024 |
H322922: Country of Origin; USMCA; Propylene Elastomers
| Ruling: Based on the information provided regarding the proposed manufacturing processes in China and Taiwan, the country of origin for the propylene elastomers for marking purposes is Japan. Further, specific to the proposed manufacturing processes in Mexico, the country of origin for the propylene elastomers for marking purposes is Japan. When produced in Mexico, the propylene elastomers are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when produced in Mexico. |
| Issues: Are the propylene elastomers eligible for USMCA preferential tariff treatment and what is the country of origin for marking purposes? |
| Item: an unnamed company's propylene elastomers that will be produced in China, Taiwan or Mexico through a melting, mixing/blending and pelletizing operation from almost exclusively Japanese origin raw materials |
| Reason: The classification for the propylene elastomers at issue is 3902.30.00. For goods of any heading in chapter 39, regulatory code provides the following product-specific rule of origin: “A good of chapter 39 is an originating good if the deliberate and proportionally-controlled mixing or blending (including dispersing) of materials, other than the addition of diluents, to conform to predetermined specifications occurs in the territory of one or more of the USMCA countries, resulting in the production of a good having essential physical or chemical characteristics that are relevant to the purposes or uses of the good and are different from the input materials.” Based on the facts presented, the propylene elastomers at issue undergo a deliberate and proportionally-controlled mixing or blending of materials in a USMCA country. As such, the propylene elastomers are originating, and therefore, eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when produced in Mexico. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 28, 2025 |