Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings June 26
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on June 26 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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H346874: Applicability of Subheading 9817.00.96, HTSUS; Effortless Bra and Adaptive Underwear
| Ruling: The Effortless Bra and Adaptive Underwear at issue are eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9817.00.96 as articles specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons. |
| Issue: Are the Effortless Bra and Adaptive Underwear imported by Springrose eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9817.00.96? |
| Item: Springrose's Style 3.1 “Effortless Bra” and Style 4.1 “Adaptive Underwear." Springrose designs apparel exclusively for women with disabilities, including those who suffer from stroke, amputations, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. The company maintains a distributor agreement with Pisces Healthcare and partners with clinicians (including physical and occupational therapists) to design their garments for patients with physical impairments. |
| Reason: The Effortless Bra and Adaptive Underwear have specific features, such as hooks and magnetic closures, that enable those who have difficulty caring for themselves, i.e. dressing themselves, to put on their underwear with greater ease. Subheading 9817.00.96 also does not cover articles for acute or transient disability. Based upon the nature of the garment, CBP believes it is unlikely that an individual with a transient or acute disability would invest in garments such as those at issue. |
| Ruling Date: May 16, 2025 |
H345749: U.S. Government Procurement; Title III, Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. § 2511); Subpart B, Part 177, CBP Regulations; Country of Origin of R980 Global Navigation Satellite System Receiver; Country of Origin Marking
| Ruling: Based on the information provided, for purposes of U.S. government procurement and country of origin marking upon importation, the R980 GNSS Receiver is a product of the United States and is not substantially transformed by its final assembly in Thailand. Furthermore, as a product of the United States, it is excepted from country of origin marking. |
| Issue: What is the country of origin of the R980 GNSS Receiver for the purposes of U.S. government procurement and country of origin marking? |
| Item: Trimble's R980 GNSS Receiver, which is designed for “surveying and mapping in challenging environments.” The R980 GNSS Receiver consists of seven main components, which undergo final assembly into a chassis in Thailand. Four of these components, the main board assembly, the power supply and communications board assembly, the antenna element assembly, and the radio interface are stated to be manufactured in the U.S. Trimble characterizes three of these U.S.-origin components as printed circuit board assemblies. The main board assembly is the primary PCBA, which provides the “essential character” of the R980 GNSS Receiver. Its components are assembled onto the board using Surface Mount Technology in the U.S. |
| Reason: Regarding electronic equipment, CBP has found that circuit boards undergo a substantial transformation into PCBAs when various components are assembled onto the board via SMT. Additionally, CBP has found that the mere attachment of wires to a PCBA and installation into a case, along with minor tuning processes, does not result in a substantial transformation. CBP agrees that the assembly in Thailand is a simple assembly that does not result in a substantial transformation. It primarily involves placing the PCBAs into a “hot box” subassembly and then affixing the “hot box,” antenna, battery, and keypad to the chassis, in contrast to the complex SMT performed in the United States. While the two Thai-origin main components are also PCBAs and are produced using SMT, they play a subsidiary role within the device. They do not undergo any programming or process any communications or navigational information which are required for the R980 GNSS Receiver to function. The U.S.-origin components are notably more complex, which is why more worker hours are required to produce the U.S.-origin components. Therefore, based on the totality of the circumstances, we determine that the final assembly in Thailand does not result in a substantial transformation. |
| Ruling Date: June 18, 2025 |
H341208: Tariff Classification, Country of Origin, and USMCA Eligibility of a Jewelry Organizer Tray and Drawer Organizer Kit
| Ruling: The jewelry organizer tray and the drawer organizer kit are classified under subheading 3926.90.99 as “Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914: Other: Other.” The country of origin of the jewelry organizer tray is Canada. The country of origin of the drawer organizer kit is Canada. The jewelry organizer tray and drawer organizer kit are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA. |
| Issue: What is the tariff classification of the jewelry organizer tray and drawer organizer kit? What is the country of origin of the jewelry organizer tray and drawer organizer kit? Are the jewelry organizer tray and drawer organizer kit eligible for preferential tariff treatment under USMCA? |
| Item: TAG Hardware's jewelry organizer tray and drawer organizer kit. The Requestor states that the jewelry organizer tray is manufactured in Canada and China. Specifically, the large and medium U-shaped profile plastic extrusions are produced in Canada and the imitation leather fabric used to wrap the large and medium U-shaped profiles is produced in China. The large and medium U-shaped profiles are wrapped and glued with the imitation leather fabric in Canada. The earring trays are produced in Canada via a plastic injection process, by which a plastic resin is injected into a custom-built metal mold, which is also built in Canada. The ring holder, consisting of the molded foam covered in polyester fabric and glued to a paper base, is produced entirely in China. The jewelry organizer tray, consisting of the pieces described above, is then packaged together in Canada and imported into the United States as one complete product. Regarding the accessory tray, the Requestor states that the large U-shaped profile and two small U-shaped profiles are plastic extrusions produced in Canada. The PVC fabric, as mentioned above, is produced in China. The large U-shaped profile and two small U-shaped profiles are wrapped with the PVC fabric in Canada. |
| Reason: The products subject to this ruling are a jewelry organizer tray and a drawer organizer kit, which includes the jewelry organizer tray. As such, CBP must first consider the tariff classification of the jewelry organizer tray. CBP must first determine if the jewelry organizer tray is classified in accordance with General Rules of Interpretation (GRI) 1 or should be considered as a “composite good” for purposes of classification in accordance with GRI 3. Here, the jewelry organizer tray does not contain a lid and instead is open at the top. Consequently, the jewelry organizer tray is not similar to, but rather distinguishable from a jewelry box, and cannot be classified under heading 4202. The jewelry organizer tray is a composite good consisting of plastic and textile material, and thus prima facie classifiable under two different headings. In applying the essential character analysis under GRI 3(b), CBP finds that the plastic extrusion that composes the large-sized U-shaped profile, the medium-sized U-shaped profile, and the earring trays impart the essential character of the jewelry organizer tray. The jewelry organizer tray is designed to be placed, or affixed to a drawer and impact the character, performance, and function of the drawer. Since no heading accurately describes the jewelry organizer tray, the jewelry organizer tray is classified under the basket provision of heading 3926. The non-originating materials for the drawer liner is the fabric from China classified under heading 5903. As the drawer liner does not qualify as an originating good under the USMCA, the set will not qualify for preferential tariff treatment unless the drawer liner does not exceed 10% of the value of the set. |
| Ruling Date: June 25, 2025 |