CLA-2-29:OT:RR:NC:2:240
Mr. Dedi Avner
Escalade Ltd.
37 West Shore Road
Huntington, NY 11743
RE: The tariff classification and status under the United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement (IFTA), of Citric acid from Israel.
Dear Mr. Avner:
In your letter dated May 4, 2010, you requested a ruling on the status of citric acid from Israel under the IFTA.
You state that you will import calcium citrate from China to Israel. The calcium citrate will be processed with sulfuric acid of Israeli origin to produce citric acid. Calcium citrate powder is dissolved in water at a concentration of 30-30 percent. Sulfuric acid is added to the solution at a rate of .5 kg sulfuric acid to each 1 kg of calcium citrate to form a precipitate of calcium sulfate. After the solution of calcium sulfate settles to the bottom, a lighter density solution of citric acid is formed on top with a concentration of 30-40 percent. The water is evaporated in a vacuum at 74-76 C resulting in a solution of citric acid with a concentration of 60 percent. The solution is screened and dried to form citric acid anhydrous. You contend that the processes performed in Israel constitute a substantial chemical transformation from calcium citrate to citric acid anhydrous, thereby meeting the requirements of the Free Trade Agreement between Israel and the U.S. for this material.
The applicable tariff provision for citric acid will be 2918.14.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Carboxylic acids with additional oxygen function and their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxyacids; their halogenated, sulfonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives: Carboxylic acids with alcohol function but without other oxygen function, their anhydrides, halides, peroxides, peroxyacids and their derivatives: Citric acid. The general rate of duty will be 6 percent ad valorem.
General Note 8(b), HTSUS, sets forth the criteria for determining whether goods are eligible for treatment as “products of Israel” under the IFTA. General Note 8(b), HTSUS, (19 U.S.C. § 1202) states, in pertinent part, that
For purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for treatment as “products of Israel” only if--
(i) each article is the growth, product or manufacture of Israel or is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced or manufactured in Israel;
(ii) each article is imported directly from Israel (or directly from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or a qualifying industrial zone as defined in general note 3(a)(v)(G) to the tariff schedule) into the customs territory of the United States; and
(iii) the sum of--
(A) the cost or value of the materials produced in Israel, and including the cost or value of materials produced in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or a qualifying industrial zone pursuant to general note 3(a)(v) to the tariff schedule, plus
(B) the direct costs of processing operations performed in Israel, and including the direct costs of processing operations performed in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or a qualifying industrial zone pursuant to general note 3(a)(v) to the tariff schedule, is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of each article at the time it is entered.
If the cost or value of materials produced in the customs territory of the United States is included with respect to an article to which this note applies, an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered that is attributable to such United States cost or value may be applied toward determining the percentage referred to in subdivision (b)(iii) of this note.
Based on the facts provided, we cannot a make a determination whether the goods will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 8(b)(i) and (ii). The goods may be eligible for the “special” duty rate if, upon importation, information is provided to indicate that the goods meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 8(b)(iii). Please provide a detailed cost breakdown of all materials used in the production of citric acid, as well as all costs for the processing operations performed in Israel.
The calcium citrate of Chinese origin 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://www.cbp.gov (click on “Import” and “AD/CVD”).
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/.
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 Stephanie Joseph at (646) 733-3268.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division