CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 952762 CC
Mr. Peter Gonzalez
Area Director
U.S. Customs Service
110 S. Fourth St.
Minneapolis, MN 55401
RE: Internal Advice (IA) 58/92; Classification of composite
cork and rubber blocks
Dear Sir:
This ruling is in response to a request for internal advice.
At issue is the tariff classification of composite cork and
rubber blocks.
FACTS:
The original submission by the importer requested internal
advice for composition cork cylinders, and cork and rubber
composites, consisting of cylinders, frame members, and blocks.
Subsequently, counsel for the importer withdrew the internal
advice request for all of this merchandise, except for the cork
and rubber blocks.
The blocks in question consist mainly of cork and rubber.
Other materials are added according to various formulas. In
Portugal, the blocks are manufactured by combining ground cork,
synthetic rubber, and other materials in a Banbury mixer. Each
batch is then milled into sheets ranging from 3/4 inch to 1 inch
in thickness. The sheets are stacked, cut into uniform shape,
and pressed into molds to form blocks. The blocks are then heat
cured.
The imported blocks range in size from 36 inches to 50
inches in length and from 26 inches to 36 inches in width. The
thickness can range from 2 inches to 6 inches; however, 90
percent of the imported blocks are 6 inches thick.
After importation the blocks are often sliced to form sheets
or punched out to form gaskets. In addition, some blocks are cut
into smaller and thinner pieces to be glued together to produce
frame members.
The importer maintains that the cork blocks are classified
as vulcanized cork slabs under subheading 4504.10.10 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).
ISSUE:
Whether the merchandise at issue is classifiable under
subheading 4504.10.10, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes.
Heading 4504, HTSUSA, provides for agglomerated cork (with
or without a binding substance) and articles of agglomerated
cork. Subheading 4504.10, HTSUSA, provides for blocks, plates,
sheets and strip; tiles of any shape; solid cylinders, including
disks. At the eight digit level, subheading 4504.10.10, HTSUSA,
provides for vulcanized sheets and slabs wholly of ground or
pulverized cork and rubber; subheading 4504.10.50, HTSUSA,
provides for other.
The subject blocks are clearly agglomerated cork, provided
for in Heading 4504. In addition, blocks are specifically listed
in subheading 4504.10; consequently, the subject merchandise is
classifiable in this subheading. The merchandise at issue is
considered vulcanized since rubber has been used as a binding
agent. If the subject merchandise is considered a "sheet or
slab," it is classifiable under subheading 4504.10.10. If not,
it is therefore classifiable under subheading 4504.10.50.
There is nothing in the terms of Heading 4504 or the legal
notes to Chapter 45 that indicates whether vulcanized cork blocks
are classifiable as slabs of subheading 4504.10.10. Neither is
the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System,
Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at
the international level, instructive regarding this issue.
Therefore we must look to other sources.
The Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary (1984)
defines block as "1.a. A solid piece, as of wood, with one or
more flat sides." This same dictionary defines slab as "1. A
broad, flat, rather thick piece, as of cake, stone, or cheese."
The cork at issue, ranging from 36 inches to 50 inches in
length, 26 inches to 36 inches in width, and 2 to 6 inches in
thickness, consists of broad, flat, thick pieces, which will
undergo further manufacture. We believe that the subject
merchandise meets the definition of slabs. In addition, there
are no prior rulings that exclude similar merchandise from
classification as slabs. Therefore the subject merchandise is
classifiable under subheading 4504.10.10, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The composite cork and rubber blocks at issue are classified
under subheading 4504.10.1000, HTSUSA, which provides for
agglomerated cork (with or without a binding substance) and
articles of agglomerated cork: blocks, plates, sheets and strip;
tiles of any shape; solid cylinders, including disks: vulcanized
sheets and slabs wholly of ground or pulverized cork and rubber.
The rate of duty is 3.7 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division