CLA-2 CO:R:G 082365 JH
District Director of Customs
Detroit, Michigan 48226-2568
RE: Classification of a Urethane Sealant Adhesive
Dear Sir:
This is a decision on an application for further review of
Protest No. 3801-7-001162.
FACTS:
The imported product is an urethane based material used in
the automotive industry. In the United States a pre-polymer
solution is produced which is sent to Canada where it is made
into a urethane sealant. It is shipped back to the United States
and used in the automotive industry to adhere windshields to the
frame of the automobile. The composition is given as
diphenylmethane diisocyanate based urethane polymer-55 percent by
weight, toluene-5 percent by weight, carbon black-15 percent by
weight, and aluminum silicate-25 percent by weight.
ISSUE:
Whether the urethane sealant is classifiable under the
provision for polyurethane resins in item 409.14, Tariff
Schedules of the United States (TSUS), or the provision for
cements, not specially provided for, in item 494.60, TSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
A spokesman for the importing company stated that the product
is based on a polyurethane polymer and is used to seal
windshields to the frame of the automobile. He indicated that
the product was made in compliance with federal regulations on
the subject and met all the standards, especially in regard to
impact and crash specifications. In the Handbook of Adhesives,
it is noted that most polyisocyante urethane sealants are used in
the automobile industry for sealing windshields.
- 2 -
Under the Tariff Schedules of the United States, Customs
initially took the view that although many plastics materials had
adhesive qualities, in those instances where the materials were
imported in bulk and met the definitions of synthetic plastics
materials, as reflected in Headnote 2, Part 4A, Schedule 4, TSUS,
they would be classified as plastics materials. However, this
view was modified by court decisions such as Naftone, Inc. v.
United States, C.D. 4578, which concerned the classification of a
plastics material used as a cement. The court noted that the
evidence established overwhelmingly that the product was a cement
within the common meaning of the term. It went on to state that
a substance which is specifically designed for the cementing of
materials to each other and which in its imported condition can
accomplish this purpose, is a cement within the meaning of the
term.
In this case the imported product is a plastics material
which is specifically made as a urethane sealant for, and used
by, the automotive industry to seal windshields to the frame.
HOLDING:
The protest is allowed in full.
A copy of this decision should be furnished to the importer
with the Form 19 Notice of Action.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division
6cc: AD NY Seaport
JGHurley gc/3/6/89-3/10/89 fnl/3/16/89