CLA-2-83:OT:RR:NC:N1:121
Mr. Jeffrey Stapleton
M. E. Dey & Co., Inc.
700 W. Virginia St., Suite 300
Milwaukee, WI 53204-1539
RE: The tariff classification of aluminum and plastic fittings from China
Dear Mr. Stapleton:
In your letter dated October 16, 2013, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client InPro Corporation. Pictures and catalog photographs have been submitted for each item.
The merchandise under consideration is five fittings that are used with ceiling mounted cubicle tracks (not included).
Part CE9038 is described as a Ball and Chain Carrier. It fits into tracks that are permanently mounted to a ceiling. The Ball and Chain Carrier is made with two canted plastic wheels that glide along the inside of the track profile. The carrier supports an aluminum hook and chain. The hook is used to hang a privacy curtain.
Part CE9025 is described as a Solid Hook Carrier. It fits into tracks that are permanently mounted to a ceiling. The hook carrier is made with plastic wheels that glide along the inside of the track profile. The carrier supports a plastic hook that is used to hang a privacy curtain.
Part CE9100 is described as a Plastic End Cap with Hook and Hardware. This component is a U-shaped plastic fitting designed to fit onto the end of different styles of tracks, some made of aluminum and others made of plastics. The tracks are permanently mounted to a ceiling. The fitting includes an aluminum hook, chain and coupling. The fitting functions both to support the end of the privacy curtain and to prevent the curtain from sliding off the track.
Part CE9080 is similar to Part CE9011 except it does not include a hook or any hardware. It is a U-shaped plastic fitting designed to fit onto the end of different styles of ceiling mounted tracks.
Part CE7025 is described as a Nanotrac end cap. It is a plastic fitting that fits into the end of an aluminum track. It functions to keep carrier components from falling off the end of the track.
The applicable subheading for parts CE9025, CE9080 and CE7025 will be 3925.90.0000, HTSUS, which provides for builders’ ware of plastics, not elsewhere specified or included…other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
The Ball and Chain Carrier, part CE9038, and the Plastic End Cap with Hook and Hardware, part CE9100, are made of more than one component (aluminum and plastic) and are composite goods. More than one heading in the tariff schedules covers each article, consequently, GRI 1 cannot be used as a basis for classification.
GRI 3(b) provides that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component that gives them their essential character. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state that the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good. GRI 3(c) provides that when goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading that occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.
This office finds that by application of GRI 3(b), the aluminum hook on Part CE9038, provides the essential character to the Ball and Chain Carrier. Concerning classification of Part CE9100, we find that both components are equally important to the function of the good, therefore, neither component imparts the essential character to the Plastic End Cap with Hook and Hardware. Accordingly, GRI 3(c) is applied in classifying Part CE9100.
The applicable subheading for Parts CE9038 and CE9100 will be 8302.41.6050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles…other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof, suitable for buildings, other, of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc, for curtains, draperies and window shades. The rate of duty will be 3.9 percent ad valorem.
The merchandise from China 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://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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 Barbara Kaiser at (646) 733-3024.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division