CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:2:234
Mr. Jeffrey Dick
Coveright Surfaces Canada Inc.
56 Willmott Street
Cobourg, ON K9A 4R5
RE: The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of DMW600001112, Melamine Impregnated Paper from Canada; Article 509
Dear Mr. Dick:
In your letter dated December 16, 2011, you requested a ruling on the classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of the melamine impregnated paper from Canada.
The submitted sample is a melamine impregnated paper with a plastic bleached resin weighing less than 150g/m2 manufactured in Canada. You stated that the melamine impregnated paper is used in the production of flooring or desk tops. Coveright Surfaces Canada Inc. impregnates raw decor paper with a resin system that will help make the paper into Thermally Fused Melamine that is sold to a laminator for production. The Melamine Impregnated Paper product creates a high gloss, wear and scratch resistant and high impact finish for flooring or desk tops that are produced with this material. The applicable tariff provision for DMW600001112, Melamine Impregnated Paper, will be 4811.51.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUSA), which provides for Paper and paperboard, coated, impregnated or covered with plastics (excluding adhesives): Bleached, weighing more than 150 g/m2: In strips or rolls of a width exceeding 15 cm or in rectangular (including square) sheets with one side exceeding 36 cm and the other side exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state: Other (than 0.3 mm or more in thickness). 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 the World Wide Web at http://www.ustic.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; or
(iv) they are produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the
United States but one or more of the non-originating 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. The manufacturing operations for DMW600001112 are as follows:
The paper is imported from Spain into Canada.
The single compound chemicals are imported from China, Germany and the U.S. into Canada.
In Canada the chemical compounds are mixed into a resin.
The paper is submerged into a bath of resin which coats the surface.
The paper is then dried and shipped directly to the U.S.
The non-originating material is the raw decor paper from Spain and would be classified in heading 4805. For goods classified in heading 4811, General Note 12/3A (B) requires: A change to paper or paperboard in rectangular (including square) sheets with the larger dimension not exceeding 36 cm or the other dimension not exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state of heading 4811 from strips or rolls of a width exceeding 15 cm of heading 4811, paper or paperboard in rectangular (including square) sheets with the larger dimension exceeding 36 cm and the other dimension exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state of heading 4811, floor coverings on a base of paper or paperboard of heading 4811 or any other heading, except from headings 4817 through 4823. 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. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - LAW AND ANALYSIS: Regulations (19 CFR 102.11), sets forth the required hierarchy for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country for the purposes of country of origin marking and determining the rate of duty and staging category applicable to an originating good as set out in Annex 302.2. Paragraph (a) of this section provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which (1) the good is wholly obtained or produced, or (2) the good is produced exclusively from domestic materials, or (3) each foreign material incorporated into that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in section 102.20 of the regulations. "Foreign material" is defined in 19 CFR 102.1(e) as a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced. Sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) do not apply to the facts presented in this case because DMW600001112 is manufactured from materials originating in the United States, China, Germany and Canada and therefore is neither wholly obtained or produced, nor produced exclusively from domestic materials. Since an analysis of sections 102.11(a) (1) and 102.11(a) (2) will not yield a country of origin determination, we look to section 102.11(a) (3).
Section 102.11(a)(3) provides that the country of origin is the country in which each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification as set forth in 19 CFR 102.20. Since we have determined that DMW600001112 is classified in subheading 4811.51.4000, HTSUS, the applicable tariff shift rule found in section 102.20(j) requires: A change to paper or paperboard in rectangular (including square) sheets with the larger dimension not exceeding 36 cm or the other dimension not exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state of heading 4811 from strips or rolls of a width exceeding 15 cm of heading 4811, paper or paperboard in rectangular (including square) sheets with the larger dimension exceeding 36 cm and the other dimension exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state of heading 4811, floor coverings on a base of paper or paperboard of heading 4811 or any other heading, except from headings 4817 through 4823. Applying the NAFTA Marking Rules set forth in Part 102 of the regulations to the facts of this case, we find that the non-originating materials undergo the applicable shift in tariff classification. Accordingly, the country of origin of the melamine impregnated overlay paper is Canada. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Albert Gamble at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division