CLA-2-48:RR:NC:2:234
Mr. Jorge A. Torres
Interlink Trade Services
9100 Austin Dr., Ste.1
Pharr, TX 78577
RE: The tariff classification, status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and country of origin marking of paperboard file folders from Mexico; Article 509
Dear Mr. Torres:
In your letter dated May 16, 2007, on behalf of Esselte Corporation, you requested a ruling on the status of file folders from Mexico under the NAFTA. In addition, you requested a ruling on the country of origin marking of the imported file folders.
A sample of the product to be classified, a folder with an attached plastic tab, was submitted. The folder is made of paperboard and measures 11-5/8” x 9-1/2”. Attached along one edge of the folder is a protruding clear plastic index or subject tab. The tab is attached to the folder by means of three brass eyelets. The file folders and the brass eyelets are of U.S. origin and the plastic tabs are from China.
Esselte Corporation receives the file folders and brass eyelets from the United States and the plastic tabs from China at their Reynosa, Mexico facility. In Mexico, three small holes are punched using a tabbing machine along the edge of the folders. The plastic tabs are riveted to the folders with the brass eyelets. The file folders with tabs are packaged and exported to the U.S.
The applicable tariff provision for the paperboard file folders with plastic tabs will be 4820.30.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for binders (other than book covers), folders and file covers, other (than looseleaf binders), of paper or paperboard. 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(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.
Based on the facts provided, the goods described above qualify for NAFTA treatment, because they will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(A). The non-originating plastic tabs undergo the required change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note. The imported file folders will therefore be entitled to preferential NAFTA treatment upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements.
You also requested a ruling on the appropriate country of origin marking for the imported file folders with plastic tabs described above.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S., the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
The country of origin marking requirements for a "good of a NAFTA country" are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), as implemented by section 207 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057) (December 8, 1993) and the appropriate Customs Regulations. The Marking Rules used for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country are contained in Part 102, Customs Regulations. The marking requirements of these goods are set forth in Part 134, Customs Regulations.
Section 102.11, Customs Regulations, sets forth the required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of imported goods other than textile or apparel products. This section states, in pertinent part:
(a) 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 . . .
(b) Except for a good that is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set, or is classified as a set pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the single material that imparts the essential character to the good.
None of the requirements of section 102.11(a) are met in the instant case. The file folders with plastic tabs are not wholly obtained or produced in Mexico. They are not produced from domestic materials, as defined in section 102.1 (d). Each foreign material, as defined in section 102.1(e), does not undergo an applicable tariff change, since the file folders remain classifiable in heading 4820.
When the country of origin cannot be determined under section 102.11(a), the next rule is section 102.11(b)(1). The essential character of the file folders with plastic tabs is imparted by the paperboard file folders. The file folders are products of the United States, and they have not undergone a tariff shift when processed in Mexico.
Therefore, according to section 102.11(b)(1) of the Customs Regulations, the country of origin, for marking purposes, of the imported file folders with plastic tabs is the United States.
Products of the United States are not subject to the marking requirements set forth in 19 U.S.C. 1304. The imported file folders may be returned to the United States without any country of origin marking.
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 Paul Garretto at 646-733-3035.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division