Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
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N339709: The tariff classification of women’s upper body garment from Vietnam
| HTS: 6114.30.1020, 32.2%, “Other garments, knitted or crocheted: (con.): Of man-made fibers: Tops: Women’s or girls’.” |
| Item: The outer surface of the garment’s knit fabric measures more than nine stitches per two centimeters in the direction the stitches were formed. The off-shoulder garment features long hemmed sleeves, asymmetrical neckline, and straight hemmed bottom that reaches below the waist. It is is a weft knit consisting of three yarns that are composed of one-ply nylon multifilament, one-ply elastomeric monofilament, and three-ply nylon and metallic. The metallic yarn is not twisted, gimped or cabled with other yarn. The overall fiber composition is 71.9% nylon, 21.8% metalized, and 6.3% elastomeric. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346544: The tariff classification of an oil painting from Canada.
| HTS: 9701.91.0000, 9903.01.10, free + 25%, “Painting, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than drawings of heading 4906 and other than hand-painted or hand-decorated manufacture articles; collages, mosaics and similar decorative plaques: Other: Paintings, drawings, and pastels.” |
| Item: Joani Tremblay’s painting, the “Untitled 1,” is an unframed oil painting. Ms. Tremblay holds a Bachelor in Visual Arts degree from the Universite du Quebec à Montreal and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Concordia University. Ms. Tremblay has exhibited her works in the U.S., Canada, Romania, Belgium, and Sweden. Information provided states, “[T]he image of the work is a human eye. The skin around the eye is painted red. Within the eye, the sclera is painted in alternating lines that are yellow, white, blue and black. The pupil and iris of the eye are a seascape meeting a mountain range, and the mountain range meeting the sky. The sea is painted in a light and dark purple. The mountains are painted heavily in dark purple. Above the mountains the sky, with clouds, is painted in red, orange, and yellow. The materials used in the creation of the work were brushes and oil paint.” The piece is oil on linen, also considered oil on canvas. Furthermore, additional information provided states, (1) the piece took approximately 30 hours to create and is one-of-one, (2) “…the artist exercised their own aesthetic imagination and conception in creating the piece.,” (3) “…100% of the surface is materially impacted with extensive hand stenciling and brush strokes.,” and (4) the piece is completely executed by hand, “[A]t no point was an electromechanical process used.” |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346637: The country of origin of sway bar links
| Origin: Thailand |
| Item: The items under consideration are two models of sway bar links, Type 1 and Type 2, which are used in suspension systems of passenger vehicles. The two parts are similar and perform similar functions but vary in their ends. Sway bar links are essential components of a vehicle’s suspension system. When a car makes a sharp turn, the sway bar links help to maintain the balance of the car and improve its stability and handling. The steel bars are sourced from and forged into a ball pin and sway bar link body (a housing and rod blanks) in China. The forged products, along with steel scrap sheets for end caps from China, are imported into Thailand for further processing. In Thailand, the Chinese ball pin blank undergoes facing and rough turning, flat length and center hole drilling, rough finish turning, sphere turning, milling, threading, induction hardening (heat treatment), crack detection, coating, and polishing (burnishing). The forged sway bar link housing undergoes flat end face machine grooving, inner hole machining, riveting area machining, and final inspection. The forged rod undergoes rough machining, precision machining, and inspection. The housing and rod are then welded together, oiled, finish coated, laser marked and inspected. The scrapped steel is stretched, precision machined, thread tapped, heat treated, and surface treated (phosphate coating) to create an end cap. Finally, the finished components are assembled together with Thai-sourced bushing (for Type 2 model only), dust boot, and grease, and Chinese sourced clip ring and nut into a complete sway bar links. |
| Reason: The ball pin and sway bar link body forgings, as well as steel scraps for the end cap, undergo a major physical change and become functioning components of the sway bar links, when they are further processed in Thailand. These processes are sufficiently complex and meaningful as to result in a substantial transformation, such that the Chinese components lose their individual identities and become an integral part of a new article, possessing a new name, character and use. As a result, a substantial transformation occurs in Thailand. |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346656: The tariff classification of PCBAs from China
| HTS: 8518.90.8100, 9903.01.24, 9903.88.03, free + 20% + 25%, “Microphones and stands therefor; loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures; headphones and earphones, whether or not combined with a microphone, and sets consisting of a microphone and one or more loudspeakers; audio-frequency electric amplifiers; electric sound amplifier sets; parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other.” |
| Item: Printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), to be incorporated within the control box of the PFX Aviation headset. The PFX Aviation headsets are used within an aircraft by the pilot or passenger. The headsets are wired and must be plugged in, to communicate with ATC (air traffic control) or communicate within the cockpit while in flight. The headsets also provide noise canceling functions. There is an upper cable that connects the control box assembly to the headset and a lower cable that connects the control box assembly to the intercom of the aircraft. The control box consists of a plastic housing that incorporates various control buttons. The PCBA is located within the plastic housing of the control box. The upper PCBA incorporates a CPU chip as well as flash memory. This PCBA provides the main processing and noise cancellation functionality to the headset. Without this board, the headset would be unable to perform noise cancellation. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346659: The tariff classification of parts of aviation headsets and helmets from China
| HTS: 8518.90.8100, 9903.01.24, 9903.88.03, free + 20% + 25%, “Microphones and stands therefor; loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures; headphones and earphones, whether or not combined with a microphone, and sets consisting of a microphone and one or more loudspeakers; audio-frequency electric amplifiers; electric sound amplifier sets; parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other.” |
| Item: Printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), to be incorporated within the control module of the PFX Aviation headset. The PFX Aviation headsets are used within an aircraft by the pilot or passenger. The headsets are wired and must be plugged in to communicate with ATC (air traffic control) or communicate within the cockpit while in flight. The headsets also provide noise canceling functions. The control module consists of a plastic housing that incorporates various control buttons. The control module will be assembled with the aviation headsets, connected to the electric/audio cable, between the headset and the input/output connectors. The PCBAs are located within the plastic housing. The upper PCBA incorporates a CPU chip as well as flash memory. This PCBA provides the main processing and noise cancellation functionality to the headset. Without this board, the headset would be unable to perform noise cancellation The lower PCBA acts as a sound processor for the headsets. This PCBA transmits information selected on the control box to the headset, such as volume controls. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346851: The tariff classification of steel racks with forklift slots from China
| HTS: 7326.90.8688, 9903.88.03, 9903.01.24, 2.9% + 25% + 20%, “Other articles of iron or steel: Other: Other…Other.” |
| Item: The merchandise under consideration is racks for storage and handling of long PVC pipes or tubes. Each rack measures 3900 millimeters in length by 1278 millimeters in width by 1292 millimeters in height. They are made entirely of carbon steel and are powder coated for protection. Each rack features extendable upright supports for handling higher loads of PVC pipes or tubes. The extendable upright supports can be folded down which allows for compact storage and stacking of the racks when not in use. Welded to the underside of the rack are two forklift slots for easy access and maneuvering with a forklift or pallet jack. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346911: The country of origin of the huupe smart mini basketball hoop game console
| Origin: Malaysia |
| Item: The article under consideration is identified as the huupe mini. The mini is an indoor smart mini basketball hoop game console. The huupe mini incorporates three PCBAs. One is the main PCBA, which controls all subsystems and processes all data received from the other two PCBAs. The main PCBA contains the memory required to operate the console and provides the signals necessary for the operation of the liquid crystal game display. It also regulates the power and battery safety for the console. A second PCBA controls the radar board and is used to detect, locate and confirm when a shot occurs. Finally, a third PCBA is responsible for the rim sensor functions. Together these three PCBAs allow the console to function. The PCBAs for the huupe minis under consideration are produced in Malaysia by surface mount/through-hole insertion soldering of various electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, transformers, diodes, triodes, and integrated circuits, etc., onto a bare printed circuit board. Also in Malaysia, the PCBAs are loaded with firmware and tested prior to being sent to China. In China, the main PCBAs are assembled with the balance of parts and components that are all of Chinese origin, which include plastic housings, electrical cables, connectors, labels, etc., by inserting, gluing, screwing, and soldering. Once assembled in China, the products are tested and packaged for export. |
| Reason: The assembly of the PCBAs in Malaysia by soldering the individual components onto the bare board results in a substantial transformation of the components to produce PCBAs of Malaysian origin. Furthermore, the PCBAs, which function to process data, provide memory for the console, operate the liquid crystal game console display, and regulate power and battery safety for the console establishes the essential character of the huupe mini. The assembly processes performed in China, which consists of inserting, attaching, screwing, etc., are not complex and are considered basic assembly. As a result, the Malaysian origin PCBAs are not substantially transformed in China into different articles of commerce with new names, characters, and uses. Thus, the huupe minis are considered products of Malaysia for origin and marking purposes at the time of importation into the United States. |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N346922: The country of origin of radio frequency (RF) front-end-modules
| Origin: U.S. |
| Item: The items concerned are referred to as radio frequency (“RF”) front-end-modules (“FEM”). These devices are silicon on insulator RF FEM integrated circuits. They are used in cellular and Wi-Fi applications. The RF FEM integrated circuit manufacturing process is divided into three basic phases: (1) the front-end manufacturing process, which occurs in the United States, (2) the back-end package assembly process, which occurs in China, and (3) the final testing and finishing, which occurs in the United States. The front-end manufacturing process determines all the inherent performance parameters of the RF FEM products. At the conclusion of the front-end manufacturing process, the RF FEM dice are complete, having their full operational capability. The RF FEM dice then undergo package assembly, followed by a final testing and finishing process. The front-end manufacturing process which takes place within the United States comprises ten primary steps, some of which are repeated multiple times. |
| Reason: The front-end processing that takes place in the United States is both meaningful and complex, resulting in the creation of wafers which incorporate numerous finished RF FEM integrated circuit die. All non-originating materials, used in the manufacture of the wafers containing the RF FEM integrated circuit die, are substantially transformed as a result of the front-end processing that takes place within the United States. The character of the finished/packaged RF FEM integrated circuit module is imparted by the IC chips/die which would be considered the dominant component. The RF FEM integrated circuit die does not undergo a substantial transformation as a result of the back-end processing that takes place in China. The RF FEM integrated circuit die retain their identity and predetermined end use which was established as a result of the front-end processing. Therefore, since a substantial transformation does not occur as a result of the back-end processing that takes place within China, the country of origin of the finished RF FEM integrated circuit module will be the United States; therefore, trade remedies under Section 301 will not apply. |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N347054: The tariff classification of an ophthalmic lens cleaning system from France
| HTS: 8479.89.9599, 9903.85.08, 2.5% + 25%, “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: The Satisloh SCL Hydra-Brush-4 is a fully automated, soft brush cleaning system for cleaning the front and back sides of ophthalmic lenses. This machine is intended for use in high-production ophthalmic lens labs. It will be used after cutting the prescription into the lens and polishing the lens surface. The Hydra-Brush-4 removes polish residue, ink, tape, glue, and fingerprints, leaving the lenses clean and dry and ready for inspection. The cleaning process involves four stages: (1) brush cleaning with a rotating soft brush and detergent; (2) rinsing with municipal water; (3) rinsing with deionized water; and (4) drying with compressed air. The Hydra-Brush-4 measures 125 (W) x 68 (D) x 91 (H) inches and weighs 2,778 lbs. The Hydra-Brush-4 employs a chainless lens tray transfer system which ensures each lens is returned to its original tray, helping to prevent cross-contamination between cleaning stages. The machine also includes an automatic loading and unloading system that fits standard conveyor heights, six lens holders, and a vibration unit to align the lenses precisely during cleaning. Additionally, the machine has an integrated refill pump to automatically supply detergent, plus an integrated deionization device to provide a constant supply of DI water. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |
N347055: The tariff classification of the “Bluey Hide & Seek” toy from China
| HTS: 9503.00.0073, 9903.01.24, free + 20%, “Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, and similar wheeled toys…dolls, other toys…puzzles of all kinds; parts and accessories thereof… ‘Children’s products’ as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 2052: Other: Labeled or determined by importer as intended for use by persons: 3 to 12 years of age.” |
| Item: The item under consideration consists of a 6” tall, plastic, electronic, “Bluey” figure with poseable arms, 2 AAA batteries and an instructional manual. The “Bluey” figure toy may be used to play hide and seek with 2 or more players by designating one player to be the hider and the others to be the seekers. Once the “Bluey” figure is hidden, her nose is pressed to activate the built-in timer. “Bluey” will then talk and giggle every few seconds to lead the seekers in the right direction to find her. The first person to find the “Bluey” toy before the time runs out is the winner. When “Bluey” is found, her nose can be pressed again to activate the “dance mode” in which “Bluey” plays her theme song while everyone sings and dances along. The “Bluey Hide & Seek” toy is principally designed for the entertainment of children ages 3 and older. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 2, 2025 |