CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 951930 CMS
Ernest de Masi, President
E.D.M. Equipment & Consulting Services, Inc.
2003 Jericho Turnpike
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
RE: Tubular Copper Molds For Continuous Casting Machines;
Tubular; Ingots; Semifinished Blooms, Billets; Steel;
Iron; Static Casting; Subheading 8454.20.00
Dear Mr. de Masi:
This is in response to your request dated April 23, 1992,
submitted to the Customs Information Exchange in New York, for a
classification ruling on certain copper molds. Your letter has
been forwarded to Customs Headquarters for a reply.
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of tubular copper molds used in
the production of semifinished steel mill products by the
continuous casting method.
ISSUE:
Is the merchandise classified as "ingot molds" in Heading
8454 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS), or as "molds (other than ingot molds)" in Heading 8480,
HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The HTSUS provides that the classification of articles is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1
states in pertinent part that "...classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes...".
Heading 8454 in part describes "ingot molds". Heading 8480
in part describes "molds for metal (other than ingot molds)".
-2-
The molds under consideration are used in continuous casting
machines in which articles such as blooms and billets are
directly produced from molten steel. Continuous casting blooms
and billets are defined as semifinished products in Chapter 72
Note 1(ij). The molds are not used in the production of ingots
and other primary forms hich are (1) cast and solidified, and
(2) subsequently rolled or forged into semifinished products, as
described in Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Note III to Chapter 72, pp. 979-980. In the
continuous casting method, the ingot or other primary form stage
is bypassed as semifinished products such as blooms and billets
are produced directly from molten steel.
The Explanatory Notes to Heading 8454 refer repeatedly to
both Heading 8454 molds and Heading 8480 molds. The Explanatory
Notes to Heading 8454, p. 1264, describe "Ingot Moulds" as
follows:
These may be of various shapes, in one piece or two
halves, in which the molten metal is provisionally cast
into, e.g., ingots, pigs, slabs.
Other moulds (e.g., for casting articles) are generally
classified in heading 84.80. [emphasis in original]
The Explanatory Notes to Heading 8454, p. 1265, also
provide that the flow lines of continuous casting machines
include "(a) an ingot mould, without bottom, with its cooling
devices". However, the Explanatory Notes further provide on
p. 1265 that "[t]he moulds to be used with the machines of this
group [e.g., continuous casting machines] fall usually in
heading...84.80" [emphasis in original].
It is clear after consulting other Explanatory Notes
describing the continuous casting method, and lexicographic
authority, that the products directly produced in the continuous
casting molds under consideration are not the "provisionally
cast" products manufactured in "ingot moulds".
The continuous casting process is described in the
Explanatory Notes to Heading 7207, p. 992, where it is stated
that the flow lines of this process include "(a) A mould, without
bottom, with its cooling devices" (no reference is made to an
ingot mold). Pursuant to Chapter 72 Note 1(ij), continuous
casting products of solid section are defined as "[s]emi-finished
products", and semi-finished products are distinguished from
ingots cast in ingot molds by Explanatory Note III to Chapter 72,
pp. 979-980.
-3-
In The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel, U. S. Steel,
10th Ed. (1985), p. 692, the section entitled "Types of Ingot
Molds", describes the two principal types of ingot moulds, i.e.,
big end up, and big end down. Other variations of ingot molds
are discussed. However, no reference is made to an "ingot mold"
used in continuous casting machines. Further, in the product
brochure of the manufacturer of the molds under consideration,
the molds are described as "continuous casting moulds", and not
as "ingot molds".
It is Customs understanding and position that the tubular
copper continuous casting molds under consideration are the type
of molds described in Heading 8480, and are not ingot molds
described in Heading 8454.
HOLDING:
The merchandise under consideration is classified as "molds
for metal (other than ingot molds)...Molds for metal or metal
carbides...Other types", in subheading 8480.49.00, HTSUS,
currently subject to a Column rate of duty of 3.9% ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division