CLA-2-72:RR:NC:1:117 I88995
Mr. Peter T. Middleton
Middleton & Shrull
Attorneys at Law
44 Mall Road, Suite 208
Burlington, MA 01803-4530
RE: The tariff classification of stainless steel strip from Japan and England.
Dear Mr. Middleton:
In your letter dated November 26, 2002 on behalf of Gillette Company of Boston, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Copies of color photographs illustrating the product in its imported condition were submitted with your request.
The product to be imported is cold-rolled stainless steel strip material in coils with a chromium content ranging from 12.55 percent to 13.85 percent. This stainless steel strip, intended for production of razor blades, ranges from 0.076 mm to 0.1 mm in thickness and from 11.481 mm to 14.427 mm in width. It will be imported on a traverse wound coil, that is, one continuous strip of the material is wound back and forth across a spool in layers.
Flat-rolled products of steel are defined in HTS Chapter 72 Note 1. (k) as “Rolled products of solid rectangular (other than square) cross section…in the form of…coils of successively superimposed layers….” Steel wire is defined in Chapter 72 Note. 1 (o) as “Cold-formed products in coils, of any uniform solid cross section along their whole length, which do not conform to the definition of flat-rolled products.” The product you plan to import does not meet the definition for flat-rolled products because it is not imported in coils of successively superimposed layers.
The applicable subheading for the cold-rolled stainless steel strip will be 7223.00.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for wire of stainless steel, flat wire. The rate of duty will be 0.3 percent ad valorem.
On March 5, 2002, President Bush proclaimed additional tariffs and quotas on a number of steel mill products for a period of three years. Products classified under HTS subheading 7223.00.5000, unless specifically excluded, are subject to additional duties. See subheadings 9903.74.18 through 9903.74.24, copy attached. Based upon the description of the merchandise
provided in your request, the applicable Chapter 99 subheading is 9903.74.22 which currently carries an additional 8 percent ad valorem tariff. At the time of importation, you must report this Chapter 99 number in addition to the Chapter 72 number listed above.
The Proclamation is subject to periodic amendment of the exclusions, and the additional tariffs are reduced in the second and third years of the program, so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Proclamation.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
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 Paula Ilardi at 646-733-3020.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division