CLA-2-20:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Mr. Kevin J. Sullivan
Baker & McKenzie LLP
815 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006-4078
RE: The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of roasted and salted cashews from Canada; Article 509
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
In your letter dated July 26, 2012, you requested a ruling on the status of roasted, salted cashews from Canada under the NAFTA. Your letter was submitted on behalf of your client, Harvest Manor Farms, LLC (El Paso, TX).
You have outlined a scenario in which raw, shelled cashews will initially be imported into Canada from various suppliers from non-NAFTA countries. In Canada, the nuts will first be inspected and subjected to a heat process intended to bring them to an ambient temperature to control breakage during subsequent processing. After heating, the cashews will be re-inspected and then polished and cleaned by being passed through a high-efficiency aspirator. The cashews will then be placed into either an oil or dry roaster. After roasting, the nuts will undergo a salting operation. After salting, the cashews will be inspected again and then packed, either whole or halved, in retail containers of various types and sizes. They will then be imported into the United States. You state that the ingredients of the finished, imported merchandise will be cashews, sea salt and peanut oil (from the roaster).
The applicable tariff provision for the roasted, salted cashews will be 2008.19.1040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included: nuts, peanuts (ground-nuts) and other seeds, whether or not mixed together: other, including mixtures: Brazil nuts and cashews: cashews. The general rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
General Note 12(a)(i), HTSUS, requires, for NAFTA eligibility, that goods produced in Canada must originate in the territory of a NAFTA party, under the terms of GN 12, and that they qualify to be marked as goods of Canada under the terms of the marking rules for NAFTA goods.
General Note 12(b), HTSUS, sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is originating under the NAFTA. General Note 12(b), HTSUS, (19 U.S.C. § 1202) states, in pertinent part, that
For the purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for the tariff treatment and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as “goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party” only if--
(i) they are goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States; or
(ii) they have been transformed in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States so that--
(A) except as provided in subdivision (f) of this note, each of the non-originating materials used in the production of such goods undergoes a change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note or the rules set forth therein, or
(B) the goods otherwise satisfy the applicable requirements of subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) where no change in tariff classification is required, and the goods satisfy all other requirements of this note; or
(iii) they are goods produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States exclusively from originating materials; or …
Based on the facts provided, the goods described above will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(A), via GN 12(t)20.4. (GN 12(s)(ii), which sets forth an exception for products that merely undergo roasting or other specified processing, is not triggered here because the nuts at issue additionally undergo a salting process after roasting.) Similarly, the goods qualify to be marked as goods of Canada under the NAFTA marking rules (19 CFR 102.11(a)(3), via §102.20 (d)).
In light of the foregoing, the imported roasted, salted cashew nuts are originating goods under the NAFTA and will qualify for NAFTA preferential treatment.
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division