CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H047742 JER
Port Director
Port of Detroit
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
477 Michigan Ave., RM 210
Detroit, MI 48226
RE: Classification of upper strut mount/bearing plate; Internal Advice 08/026
Dear Port Director:
This is in response to your letter, dated November 19, 2008, forwarding a request for internal advice made, on behalf of Tenneco Automotive (Tenneco), dated December 9, 2008, in accordance with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Regulations, Part 177 (19 C.F.R. §177). The request pertains to the classification of an “upper strut mount” under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is referred to as an “Upper Strut Mount” and was also described in entry documents as a “Bearing Plate.” The metal sample presented referred to the merchandise as a “Strut-Mate Mounting Kit” (hereinafter, the upper strut mount/bearing plate). It is comprised of an outer and inner stamping of low carbon steel, four threaded studs of high carbon steel, four threaded nuts of high carbon steel, and a rubber isolation between the inner and outer stamping.
According to the submission, the upper strut mount bearing plate is part of an automobile’s strut, which is a major structural part of an automobile’s suspension. Attachment D, Importer’s Submission dated May 23, 2008, (citing Tech Support: Struts, at http://www.monroe.com/support/tec_struts.asp). A strut is a type of damper which takes the place of the upper control arm and upper ball joint used in conventional automotive suspensions. Id. The submission further explains that “an automotive suspension strut combines the primary function of a shock absorber (as a damper), with the ability to support sideways loads.” The subject merchandise is also said to allow the strut to pivot as the wheels of the automobile are turned and is flexible enough to dampen the movement of the upper end of the strut. It “transfers vehicle load to the strut and spring, making the upper mount/bearing plate the load carrier and the lower ball joint the follower.” id.
Different CBP ports have classified this merchandise under various provisions of the HTSUS: heading 8483, as bearing housing not incorporating bearings and heading 8708, as a part or accessory of motor vehicles. The importer believes that the correct classification is under heading 8302, HTSUS, as a mounting suitable for motor vehicles.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject upper strut mounting/bearing plate is classifiable in heading 8302, HTSUS, as a mounting suitable for motor vehicles or in heading 8483, HTSUS, as bearing housing not incorporating bearings, or in heading 8708, HTSUS, as a part or accessory of motor vehicles.
LAW & ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; and base metal parts thereof:
8302.30 Other mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof:
8302.30.30 Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc….
8483 Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks; bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings; gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gear boxes and other speed changers, including torque converters; flywheels and pulleys, including pulley blocks; clutches and shaft couplings (including universal joints); parts thereof:
8483.30 Bearing housings; plain shaft bearings:
8483.30.80 Other…
8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705
Other parts and accessories:
8708.99 Other:
8708.99.81 Other…
Note 2 to Section XV, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part, that:
Throughout the tariff schedule, the expression “parts of general use” means:
* * *
(c) Articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310 and frames and mirrors, base metals, of heading 8306.
Note 1(g) to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part, that:
Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV)…
Note 2 (b) to Section XVII, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part, that:
The expressions “parts” and “parts and accessories” do not apply to the following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods of this section:
Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal…
Under the provisions of Note 2 (b), Section XVII, HTSUS, a part of general use of Section IV, HTSUS, cannot be classified as a part or accessory of Section XVII, HTSUS. Similarly, Note 1 (g) to Section XVI, HTSUS, excludes parts of general use from classification in that section. Heading 8302, HTSUS, one of the headings under consideration, provides for parts of general use. See Note 2(c), Section XV, HTSUS. Therefore, it is necessary to first determine whether the subject merchandise is classifiable in heading 8302, HTSUS.
Heading 8302, HTSUS, provides, in relevant part, for “base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles…” The ENs to heading 8302, HTSUS, explain that “[t]his heading covers: Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles, not being parts or accessories of Section XVII.” The term “mounting” is not defined in the HTSUS, however, CBP has addressed the definition of a mounting in two rulings. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 958784, dated May 17, 1996 (concerning the classification of automotive mounting brackets), we stated that the term “mounting” is broadly defined as a frame or support, such as, “an undercarriage or part on which a device rests in service.” Likewise, in HQ 966458, dated June 19, 2003, CBP (citing to Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, 2nd, Edition p. 931 (1974)), noted that “the term ‘mounting’ is described as: “something serving as a backing, support, etc.” Consistent with the definition of the term “mounting”, common features of mountings of heading 8302, HTSUS, include a base metal composition and functions such as attaching, securing, fitting, supporting or binding two articles together.
The subject upper strut mount/bearing plate meets this definition as it mounts the strut to the body of the vehicle. The strut in turn provides structural support for an automotive suspension system. See What is a Strut, MONROE Technical Support, at www.monroe.com/support/struts. Based on the aforementioned, we find that the design, function and use of the subject merchandise meets the terms of heading 8302, HTSUS, and meets the definition of part of general use as defined in Note 2 to Section XV, HTSUS.
Prior CBP rulings concerning substantially similar merchandise have classified mountings and fittings suitable for use with motor vehicles under heading 8302, HTSUS. See e.g., NY 025470, dated April 16, 2008, concerning aluminum mountings which were to be mounted to the bed of a pick-up truck and were to support the metal framework that held the truck bed cover in place; see also, HQ W968311 dated April 23, 2007, which classified engine mounting rods in heading 8302, HTSUS; NY R01501, dated February 24, 2005, (shock bracket mounted the shock absorber to the suspension of a truck) and NY R01224, dated January 18, 2005 (brackets used in automotive suspension systems).
Because the subject articles are classifiable as mountings of heading 8302, HTSUS, they cannot be classified in heading 8483, HTSUS, by operation of Section XVI or in heading 8708, HTSUS, Section XVII. See Note 2(c), Section XV, Note 1(g), Section XVI and Note 2(b), Section XVII.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 and pursuant to Note 2 (c) to Section XV, Note 1(g) to Section XVI and Note 2 (b) to Section XVII, the subject strut mount/bearing plate is classified in heading 8302, HTSUS. It is specifically classified in subheading 8302.30.30, HTSUS, which provides for: “Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for…coachwork…or the like;…and base metal parts thereof: Other mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof: Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc.” The column one, general rate of duty is 2% ad valorem.
You are to mail this decision to the importer no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. On that date, the Office of International Trade will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division