CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087601 CMS
7211.90.00
District Director of Customs
511 N.W. Broadway, Fed. Bldg.
Portland, OR 97209
RE: Protest No. 2904-9-000143 (November 29, 1989); High Carbon
Steel Strip, Flat-Rolled, Hardened, Tempered, Polished;
Not Further Worked
Dear Sir,
This Protest was filed against your liquidation dated
September 8, 1989, in which certain high carbon steel strip was
classified in 7211.90.00, HTSUSA.
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of flat-rolled high carbon steel
strip less than 300 mm in width. According to the Inspection
Certificate submitted with the entry documents, the strip has
been hardened, tempered and brightly polished.
ISSUE:
Does polishing result in steel being "further worked" for
the purposes of Heading 7211?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The merchandise is described by Heading 7211 which provides
for flat-rolled products of iron or nonalloy steel, of a width
less than 600 mm, not clad, plated or coated.
Subheading 7211.30 provides for Heading 7211 products which
are of high strength steel and are not further worked other than
being cold-rolled. If the merchandise is further worked other
than being cold-rolled then it is classified as other Heading
7211 products in subheading 7211.90.
-2-
Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 72 provides that "[f]or
the purposes of this chapter, unless the context provides
otherwise, the term 'further worked' refers to products subjected
to any of the following surface treatments: polishing..."
(emphasis in original).
The protestor does not address Additional U.S. Note 2. The
protestor cites the Explanatory Notes to Heading 7208 in support
of the argument that polishing does not constitute further
working. The Explanatory Notes to Headings 7208 and 7209 are
adopted, mutatis mutandis, by the Explanatory Notes to Heading
7211.
The Heading 7208 Explanatory Notes do not, however,
definitively address the question of whether polishing
constitutes further working. The Explanatory Notes to Heading
7208, p. 993, provide that "[t]he products of this heading may
have been subjected to the following surface treatments: ... (3)
[p]olishing...". Heading 7208, however, covers products which
have been further worked and have not been further worked. It is
not stated whether all Heading 7208 products may be surface
polished.
The Explanatory Notes to Heading 7209 more specifically
address the issue under consideration. The subheading
Explanatory Notes to Heading 7209, p. 997, address only
subheadings which cover goods which have not been further worked.
The Notes list numerous allowable treatments for these products,
including many of those listed by the Explanatory Notes to
Heading 7208. Polishing, however, is not among the listed
treatments. This is consistent with Additional U.S. Note 2 to
Chapter 72 which provides that once goods are polished goods they
become "further worked". The Explanatory Notes to Heading 7208,
cited by the protestor, do not establish a context which would
prevent the application of Additional U.S. Note 2.
Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 72 is instructive on the
issue of whether polishing constitutes further working for the
purposes of Heading 7211. The merchandise under consideration
has been brightly polished and has thus been further worked.
The steel strip is classified as other Heading 7211 products in
7211.90.00, HTSUSA.
Because the polishing in itself constitutes further working,
it is not necessary to determine whether hardening and tempering
also constitute further working for the purposes of Heading 7211.
-3-
HOLDING:
The high carbon steel strips are classified as other Heading
7211 products in 7211.90.00, HTSUSA. The Protest should be
denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Form
19 Notice of Action.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division