CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
David Mora
Mac Terra Import
2109 Carnation Court
Garland, TX 75040
RE: The tariff classification of gold jewelry from Spain.
Dear Mr. Mora:
In your letter dated November 16, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Illustrative literature was provided.
Your ruling request concerns various pieces of jewelry divided into three categories. The first category of jewelry pieces include: an 18-karat, a 14-karat and a 9-karat gold, bracelet, each having various ornaments. The second category of jewelry includes: an 18-karat gold bracelet that has an identification plate and cultivated pearls, of which the cultivated pearls are imported from China to Spain. The third category of jewelry includes: a 14-karat, white or yellow gold, bracelet, having semiprecious gemstones and 1 sterling silver charm, of which the semiprecious gemstones are mined in different parts of the world, imported into Spain, where they are combined with gold and silver jewelry findings and made into jewelry.
Category-1:
Item 00910.A PULS is described as the 14 cm. long bracelet in 18-karat, 14-karat and 9-karat gold, with star, conch, fish and shell.
Category-2:
Item 000340.B ID.8 is described as the 14 cm. long bracelet in 18-karat gold, with ID 8 and 2 cultivated pearls.
Catergory-3:
Item MAR00255 is described as the 19 cm. long bracelet in 14-karat, white or yellow gold, with 5 cultivated baroque stick pearls (3mm x 6mm, approximately), with 4 green crisopas chrysoprase (4mm, approximately), 4 onyx (4mm, approximately) and 1 silver charm.
Legal Note 2 (a) to Chapter 71 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) provides: headings 7113, 7114, 7115 do not cover articles in which precious metal or metal clad with precious metal is present as minor constituents only, such as minor fittings or minor ornamentation (for example, monograms, ferrules and rims), and paragraph (b) of the foregoing note does not apply to such articles. Legal Note 2 (b) provides that heading 7116 does not cover articles containing precious metal or metal clad with precious metal (other than as minor constituents).
Legal Note 5 to Chapter 71 of the HTSUS provides: for the purposes of this chapter, any alloy (including a sintered mixture and an inter-metallic compound) containing precious metal is to be treated as an alloy of precious metal if any one precious metal constitutes as much as 2 percent, by weight, of the alloy. Alloys of precious metal are to be classified according to the following rules:
(a) An alloy containing 2 percent or more, by weight, of platinum is to be treated as an alloy of platinum;
(b) An alloy containing 2 percent or more, by weight, of gold but no platinum, or less than 2 percent, by weight, of platinum, is to be treated as an alloy of gold;
(c) Other alloys containing 2 percent or more, by weight, of silver are to be treated as alloys of silver.
We recognized that gold is rated based on its purity from a range of 24-karat (99.99% fine gold) to even below 9-karat gold. 24-karat gold is considered 100% gold and 9-karat gold is considered 37.5% gold. 9-karat gold, contains 9 parts gold and 15 parts additional metals (total of 24 parts as a fraction of 24-karats), such as silver, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, palladium, etc. It is also of worthy mention that nothing less than 10-karat gold can be legally marked or sold as gold jewelry in the United States. This, however, does not mean for tariff purposes that 9-karat gold is not considered a precious metal – see the aforementioned paragraph above, where Legal Note 5 (b) to Chapter 71, HTSUS, only calls for an alloy containing 2 percent or more, by weight, of gold but no platinum, or less than 2 percent, by weight, of platinum, is to be treated as an alloy of gold. 9-karat gold meeting the parameters set in Legal Note 5 (b) to Chapter 71, HTSUS, is considered an “alloy” of gold for tariff purposes.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs), which constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule at the international level, for Chapter 71, heading 7113 “Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal,” provide in pertinent part, that to fall within heading 7113 – these articles “must” contain precious metal or metal clad with precious metal (including base metal inlaid with precious metal) to an extent exceeding minor constituents; (thus a cigarette case of base metal with a simple monogram of gold or silver remains classified as an article of base metal). Still, further evidence of the meaning of minor constituents can be found in the ENs to heading 7116, HTSUS, which provides in pertinent part, that the goods of heading 7116 may contain precious metal or metal clad with precious metal as minor constituents (e.g., a pearl necklace with a gold fastener).
Upon review of the illustrative literature, we find that the proper classification: for category-1 jewelry pieces, the 18-karat, 14-karat and 9-karat gold bracelet, with star, conch, fish and shell, to be subheading 7113.19.5085, HTSUS; for category-2 jewelry pieces, the 18-karat gold bracelet, with ID plate and pearls, to be 7113.19.5085; and for category-3 jewelry pieces, the 14-karat gold, white or yellow gold, bracelet, with semiprecious stones and 1 silver charm, to be 7113.19.5085, HTSUS.
For category 2 and 3 jewelry pieces, we are of the opinion that the “gold chain links” running through the bracelets are essential in the creating of the jewelry pieces, and therefore are of more than minor constituents. Further, for caterogy-2 the ID plate is decorative to the bracelet itself and is therefore of more than minor constituents and for category-3 the sterling silver charm is decorative to the bracelet itself and is therefore of more than minor constituents.
The applicable subheading for the 00910.A PULS, 000340.B ID.8 and MAR00255, in gold, will be 7113.19.5085, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Articles of jewelry and parts thereof, of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal: Of other precious metal, whether or not plated or clad with precious metal: Other: Other; Other.” The rate of duty will be 5.5% ad valorem.
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).
Although not requesting a country of origin ruling, it would be prudent of your company to seek such a ruling, because the simple combining of beads (to include strung pearls), charms and ornaments does not usually effect a “substantial transformation” of castings, whether pendants, rings, bracelets, etc. from that of their country of manufacture. See 19 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 134 – Country of Origin Marking, Subpart A, 134.1 (b).
If you choose to request a country of origin ruling, please submit complete process descriptions for each country where manufacturing or assembly took place. Also include any other relevant documents of the work undertaken, the advancement of constituent materials and the location of work performed.
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 Neil H. Levy at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division