CLA-2-73:S:N:N1:103 872165
Mr. Mark Bennett
Compass Trading Company
P.O. Box 1492
Puyallup, WA 98371
RE: The tariff classification of flail chains from The People's
Republic of China
Dear Mr. Bennett:
In your letter dated March 3, 1992 you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
Flail chains are used in equipment designed to beat the bark
off of logs. A drawing submitted with your inquiry indicates the
chains will be composed of oblong-shaped welded links made from
AISI 1020 steel containing .20 percent carbon and a maximum of
.60 percent manganese. The links will have a diameter of 15.87
millimeters. The flail chains will be imported in lengths
ranging from 15 to 22 inches and will be sold by your firm to
distributors who will resell them to OEM's for incorporation into
their bark removing equipment.
The applicable subheading for the flail chains will be
7315.82.7000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTS), which provides for other welded link chain: of iron or
nonalloy steel: over 10 mm in diameter. The rate of duty will be
free.
You also inquired as to whether the flail chains need be
individually marked with their country of origin. You state that
they will be imported in crates which are properly marked to
indicate the country of origin of the chains they contain.
Section 134.32(h) of the Customs Regulations states that marking
of articles may be waived when an ultimate purchaser must
necessarily know the country of origin of the articles by reason
of the circumstances of their importation or by reason of their
character even though they are not marked to indicate their
origin. Under the circumstances described in your letter, the
incorporation of the flail chains into machinery for the removal
of bark would appear to cause the chains to lose their identity
and become an integral part of a new article. The OEM's would
thus be the ultimate purchasers of the imported flail chains, and
the flail chains would be exempt from individual country of
origin marking provided they were received by the OEM's in their
original marked crates. We suggest you contact the local Customs
office at the port of importation for further guidance in this
area.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section
177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport