CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 084271 JAS
Mr. Stuart E. Tarkan
National Machinable Carbide, Inc.
415 Patricia Drive
Warminster, Pa. 18974
RE: Steel-Bonded Titanium Carbide Blanks
Dear Mr. Tarkan:
In a letter dated April 12, 1989, you ask that we
reconsider a ruling previously issued to you on the
classification of this merchandise. Our decision follows.
FACTS:
A letter dated December 27, 1988 (832492), from the Area
Director of Customs, New York Seaport, held that this
merchandise, from China (PRC), was classifiable under the
provision for other bars and rods of other alloy steel, in
subheading 7228.60.1060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
In the April 12 letter, you note that titanium carbide
blanks are not within the Chapter 72, Note 1(d), HTSUSA,
definition of Steel because they contain carbon in excess, by
weight, of the amount allowed by that chapter note. These
blanks cannot, therefore, be classified as alloys of steel.
More importantly, you state that titanium carbide blanks are
not bars at all. Rather, they are ceramic-metal composites or
cermets.
Some confusion may have resulted from the facts outlined
in your original ruling request. You described a sample which
you submitted as a stick having a cross section in the
approximate shape of a rectangle. This suggested that the
product was in bar form. In addition, the chemical composition
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you submitted separated the percentage of titanium carbide, by
weight, from the metallic carbon in the matrix alloy. This,
plus your initial reference to "a two-phase sintered alloy" may
have led New York to conclude that the product was an alloyed
steel bar for tariff purposes.
The merchandise in question consists of a sintered
combination of titanium carbide micrograins in a tool steel
matrice in stick form. The carbide provides wear resistance
while the steel matrix provides toughness and strength.
Articles consisting of a ceramic constituent, such as a
carbide, and a metal component normally in powdered form, bound
together by sintering, among other processes, are called
cermets. Titanium carbide cermets are used to fashion the
working parts of tools and knives, for example, as well as
components for bearings, valves, nozzles, and other parts and
components requiring a high degree of wear-resistance.
ISSUE:
Are tungsten carbide blanks in stick form classifiable as
alloy steel bars, as cermets, or under another more specific
provision?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, HTSUSA, states in
part that for legal purposes, classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes. Section XV, Note 3(c),
HTSUSA, which governs merchandise classifiable in Chapter 72,
states that the term "alloys" includes sintered mixtures of
metal powders other than cermets. Cermets are therefore
excluded from classification in Heading 7228 as alloy steel
bars.
Goods consisting of more than one material or substance
are classifiable in accordance with GRI 3. With respect to
goods that are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more
headings, GRI 3(a) states that the heading which provides the
most specific description shall be preferred to headings
providing a more general description. The merchandise in
question consists of more than one material or substance.
Heading 8113 covers cermets and articles thereof, while
heading 8209 covers plates, sticks, tips and the like for
tools, unmounted, of sintered metal carbides or cermets.
Explanatory Notes, which provide guidance as to the scope of
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the headings at the international level, indicate, at p. 1100,
that plates, sticks, tips and the like for tools, of cermets
with a basis of metal carbides agglomerated by sintering, are
excluded from classification in heading 8113. These notes
place classification in heading 8209. Therefore, we conclude
that under GRI 3(a), heading 8209 is more specific than heading
8113 with respect to the merchandise in question.
HOLDING:
Steel bonded titanium carbide blanks, in stick form, from
China (PRC), are classifiable under the provision for plates,
sticks, tips and the like for tools, unmounted, of sintered
carbides or cermets, in heading 8209.00.0000, HTSUS. The rate
of duty is 7 percent ad valorem.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
Ruling 832492, dated December 27, 1988, is revoked under
the authority of section 177.9(d), Customs Regulations.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division