CLA-2-76:RR:NC:N1:113
Mr. Serge Beauchemin
Garant GP
375 Chemin St-Francois West
St-Francois, Quebec G0R 3A0 Canada
RE: The tariff classification, status and country of origin under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for replacement parts of an extension handle for a snow roof rake from Canada; Article 509
Dear Mr. Beauchemin:
In your letter dated January 20, 2015, you requested a ruling on the tariff classification and the country of origin for replacement parts of an extension handle for a snow roof rake from Canada.
Samples of the products identified as item numbers 86166 and 80059 were submitted for our review.
The products are described as aluminum tubes which will ultimately become parts of an extension handle for a snow roof rake. The subject products will be sold alone as replacement parts. You indicated that the aluminum tubes are made in China and sent to Canada where they are bent to provide the appropriate angle for the roof rake and holes are drilled. A red caution label will be placed on each item. In addition to bending and drilling, item number 80059 will receive a further process. One of the tips will be crimped to provide a particular form in order to insert it inside the telescopic handle. You stated that “Once the operation is completed the tube cannot be used for any other end use than to be assembled to the tool as a replacement part.”
The function of the items under consideration are as parts of the handle and they provide the inclined angle to the snow roof rake in order to make it easier to take the snow off the roof. These items also connect the blade to the handle by using screws. The screws are not provided with the replacement parts.
The applicable tariff provision for the replacement parts of an extension handle for a snow roof rake, item numbers 86166 and 80059, will be 7616.99.5090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other articles of aluminum, other…other. The general rate of duty will be 2.5 percent ad valorem.
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/.
The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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
(iv) they are produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States but one or more of the nonoriginating materials falling under provisions for “parts” and used in the production of such goods does not undergo a change in tariff classification because--
(A) the goods were imported into the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States in unassembled or disassembled form but were classified as assembled goods pursuant to general rule of interpretation 2(a), or
(B) the tariff headings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts and is not further divided into subheadings, or the subheadings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts,
provided that such goods do not fall under chapters 61 through 63, inclusive, of the tariff schedule, and provided further that the regional value content of such goods, determined in accordance with subdivision (c) of this note, is not less than 60 percent where the transaction value method is used, or is not less than 50 percent where the net cost method is used, and such goods satisfy all other applicable provisions of this note.
Based on the facts provided, the goods described above qualify for NAFTA preferential treatment, because they will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(A). The goods will therefore be entitled to a free rate of duty under the NAFTA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements.
Section 102.11 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 102.11) sets forth the required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of goods from NAFTA countries. Section 102.11(a) of the Customs Regulations states that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:
(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in §102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
The requirements of C.F.R. 102.11(a) (1) and (2) are not applicable since the subject aluminum tubes are neither wholly obtained nor produced exclusively from domestic materials and therefore analysis must continue to C.F.R. 102.11(a)(3) to determine the country of origin. In this regard, the relevant tariff rule at issue under C.F.R 102.20 (n) states: “A change to subheading 7616.10 through 7616.99 from any other subheading, including another subheading within that group.” Since a change occurs in the classification of the aluminum tubes in Canada, the subject merchandise has undergone the required tariff shift as noted above and therefore section 102.11(a)(3) is applicable.
Applying the NAFTA Rules of Origin set forth in Subpart B of the Customs Regulations, Section 102.11(a) and Section 102.20 to the facts of this case, we find that the replacement part numbers 86166 and 80059 are goods of Canada.
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 Ann Taub at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division