CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H061118 CkG
TARIFF NO: 8544.20.00
Mr. Raymond Heroux
Heroxx Logistix Inc.
580 Laverendrye Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1J 7B8
RE: Reconsideration of NY N053357; classification of coaxial cable core
Dear Mr. Heroux:
This is in response to your letter of April 29, 2009, on behalf of Belden Canada Inc., requesting the reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N053357, issued on March 31, 2009. In NY N053357, CBP ruled that a coaxial cable core was classified in heading 8544, HTSUS, as a coaxial cable. You request classification in heading 7312, HTSUS, as steel wire, not electrically insulated.
FACTS:
NY N053357 described the merchandise as follows:
The item concerned is referred to as an un-insulated coaxial cable core (part # 16549YP). It is constructed of a copper coated steel primary conductor. That primary conductor is covered with an insulating layer of polyethylene. Next, the polyethylene insulator is covered by a layer of Beldfoil, which is a foil shielding product made of 2 layers of plastic film (Ethylene Acrylic Acid Copolymer and polypropylene) laminated with 2 layers of aluminum foil. The foil shield is covered with a braided secondary conductor of aluminum. In this instance, the outer most jacketing of the coaxial cable is absent.
ISSUE:
Whether the instant cable is classified as a coaxial cable in heading 8544, HTSUS, or as steel wire in heading 7312, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification 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.
GRI 2 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
7312: Stranded wire, ropes, cables, plaited bands, slings and the like, of iron or steel, not electrically insulated:
7312.90.00: Other . .
* * * * * *
8544: Insulated (including enameled or anodized) wire, cable (including coaxial cable) and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fiber cables, made up of individually sheathed fibers, whether or not assembled with electric conductors or fitted with connectors:
8544.20.00: Coaxial cable and other coaxial electric conductors
* * * * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory
Notes (ENs), constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the headings. It is CBP’s practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The Explanatory Notes to heading 85.44 provide:
The goods of this heading are made up of the following elements :
(A) A conductor this may be single strand or multiple, and may be wholly of one metal or of different metals.
(B) One or more coverings of insulating material the aim of these coverings is to prevent leakage of electric current from the conductor, and to protect it against damage. The insulating materials mostly used are rubber, paper, plastics, asbestos, mica, micanite, glass fibre yarns, textile yarns (whether or not waxed or impregnated), varnish, enamel, pitch, oil, etc. In certain cases the insulation is obtained by anodising or by a similar process (e.g., the production of a surface coating of metallic oxides or salts).
(C) In certain cases a metal sheath (e.g., lead, brass, aluminium or steel); this serves as a protective covering for the insulation, as a channel for an insulation of gas or oil, or as a supplementary conductor in certain co axial cables.
(D) Sometimes a metal armouring (e.g., spiral wound steel or iron wire or strip), used mainly for protecting underground or submarine cable.
* * * * * *
The merchandise was classified in NY N053357 in heading 8544, HTSUS, as insulated cable (including coaxial cable). You contend that the instant cable cannot be considered a coaxial cable, because it lacks an outer jacket, and all coaxial cables must have an outer jacket. You further claim that the cable is not provided for elsewhere in heading 8544, HTSUS, because it is not insulated. You claim classification in heading 7312, HTSUS, which provides for “Stranded wire, ropes, cables, plaited bands, slings and the like, of iron or steel, not electrically insulated.”
In HQ 964018 we considered the following definitions of the term “coaxial cable”:
The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1992) defines coaxial cable as:
An electrical transmission line comprising an inner, central conductor surrounded by a tubular outer conductor. The two conductors are separated by an electrically insulating medium which supports the inner conductor and keeps it concentric with the outer conductor.
The IBM Dictionary of Computing (10th ed., 1993) defines coaxial cable as:
A cable consisting of one conductor, usually a small copper tube or wire, within and insulated from another conductor of larger diameter, usually copper tubing or copper braid.
The Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary (3rd ed., 1997) defines coaxial cable as:
A two-conductor cable consisting of a center wire inside a grounded cylindrical shield, typically made of braided wire, that is insulated from the center wire. HQ 964018 at 3.
In HQ 088496, we considered the following definition of the term “coaxial cable”:
Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, (1988), defines coaxial as: 3 "designating a high-frequency transmission line or cable in which a solid or stranded central conductor is surrounded by an insulating medium which, in turn, is surrounded by a solid or braided outside conductor in the form of a cylindrical shell: it is used for sending telephone, telegraph, television, etc. impulses."
* * *
Similarly, Encyclopedia Britannica describes coaxial cables as follows: “By enclosing a single conducting wire in a dielectric insulator and an outer conducting shell, an electrically shielded transmission circuit called coaxial cable is obtained. In a coaxial cable the electromagnetic field propagates within the dielectric insulator, while the associated current flow is restricted to adjacent surfaces of the inner and outer conductors. As a result, coaxial cable has very low radiation losses and low susceptibility to external interference.” See http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/585825/telecommunications-media/76244/Coaxial-cable.
It is clear from the above definitions that a coaxial cable of heading 8544, HTSUS, must be insulated. As noted in the various definitions above, the layer of material surrounding the central conductor in a coaxial cable is an insulating medium, also referred to as a dielectric. Polyethylene is a common dielectric material in coaxial cables. The instant cable contains a layer of polyethylene insulation, or dielectric, between the copper coated wire conductor and the braided aluminum conductor. This insulating layer of polyethylene fully meets the requirement of “one or more coverings of insulation” that should be a component of any cable of heading 8544 per EN 85.44. The dielectric layer is meant to protect the electrical conductor by keeping the spacing equal between the central conductor and the outer shield, and to resist the flow of electricity to the shield (EN 85.44(B)).
While you state that the insulation surrounding the inner conductor does not prevent electrical leakage, a coaxial cable dielectric is, by definition, “a highly resistive material that is applied to the conductor to resist the flow of electrical current to the shield.” See http://www.westpenn-wpw.com/pdfs/ coax_ construction.pdf; EN 85.44(B). Polyethylene is specifically noted for its high insulation resistance, and hence lower loss of electrical signal. See e.g., http://www.westpenn-wpw.com/pdfs/ coax_ construction.pdf; http://www.calvert-wire.com/compound_ characteristics.php;
The instant cables thus have one covering of insulation per EN 85.44. The above definitions do not indicate that an outer jacket or insulating sheath is necessary in order for a cable to be considered a coaxial cable. Rather, they indicate that a coaxial cable must have: 1) a conductor, 2) at least one layer of insulating material, and 3) a metal sheath surrounding the insulting layer (running on a concentric, common axis with the primary conductor). The outer metal sheath intercepts and grounds electromagnetic energy it encounters, and acts as a secondary conductor. The instant cable consists of a metal conductor, surrounded by an insulating polyethylene tube, and a metal sheath surrounding the insulating polyethylene. There is no general requirement that a coaxial cable contain two insulating sheaths, one surrounding the primary, interior conductor and a protective jacket on the outside.
However, even if the absence of an outer jacket precluded the instant cable from classification as a coaxial cable, we note that heading 8544, HTSUS, includes other insulated cables. Parts (A)-(C) of EN 85.44, read in order, describe the various layers that make up a cable of that heading (inner conductor( insulation( metal sheath). The instant cable contains a central conductor, insulating layer and metal sheath, and thus fully meets all of the general requirements set out above for insulated cables of heading 8544, HTSUS.
Finally, we note that the cable cannot be classified at GRI 1 in heading 7312, HTSUS, as steel wire, because the cable is a composite article of polyethylene (plastic), steel, and copper, and thus described in several different chapters: Chapter 36 (articles of plastic), Chapter 73 (articles of steel), and Chapter 74 (articles of copper). Classification of composite articles is typically determined on the basis of GRI 3(b) (“composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components... shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character”). However, because the instant cable can be classified in heading 8544, HTSUS, on the basis of GRI 1, GRI 3 is not reached, and Chapters 73 and 74 are not a consideration.
Nevertheless, even if we assume, arguendo, that the instant cable is not classifiable at GRI 1 as a coaxial or other insulated cable of heading 8544, HTSUS, classification in heading 8544 is also warranted on the basis of GRI 2. GRI 2(a) provides that “any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article.” The GRIs do not define the phrase “essential character.” The meaning of this term in the context of GRI 2(a) may, however, be understood from an examination of the EN to GRI 2(a).
The ENs to GRI 2 (a) draw a distinction between a “blank” which possesses the essential character of an article and a “semi-manufacture[d]” item that does not have the essential character of an article. A “blank,” as defined in the EN, is an article “not ready for direct use, having the approximate shape or outline of the finished article or part, and which can only be used, other than in exceptional cases, for completion into the finished article or part.” “Semi-manufactures”, on the other hand, are items that do not yet have the essential shape or character of the finished articles. Examples of semi-manufactures set forth in the EN’s are: “bars, discs, tubes, etc.” Semi-manufactures are specifically not regarded as “blanks.”
An unfinished product classifiable by GRI 2 as though it were complete therefore does not need to possess all the components or characteristics of the finished product. It does not even need to be ready for direct use (indeed, GRI 2(a) assumes that it is not). Therefore, even if a cable must have an outer insulating sheath in order to be considered a coaxial cable at GRI 1, it is not necessary for the outer jacket to be present in order for a cable to be classified in heading 8544, HTSUS, at GRI 2. The instant cable otherwise meets all the requirements of a coaxial cable of heading 8544, HTSUS, and is destined for use as a coaxial cable upon importation (after further processing, including the addition of an outer jacket). It possesses the shape and general physical characteristics of a coaxial cable. It is dedicated for use as a coaxial cable. The instant cable thus has the essential character of a coaxial cable of heading 8544, HTSUS, and could be considered an unfinished coaxial cable, classifiable in heading 8544 pursuant to GRI 2(a).
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the Belden coaxial cable core is classified in heading
8544, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8544.20.00, HTSUS, which provides for
“Insulated (including enameled or anodized) wire, cable (including coaxial cable) and
other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fiber
cables, made up of individually sheathed fibers, whether or not assembled with electric
conductors or fitted with connectors: Coaxial cable and other coaxial electric
conductors.”
The 2011 column one, general rate of duty is 5.3% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N053357, dated April 29, 2009, is hereby affirmed.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director,
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division