CLA-2-73:OT:RR:NC:N1:121
Mr. Daniel Grieszmer Jr.
The Hillman Group Inc.
10590 Hamilton Ave, OH 45231
RE: The tariff classification of fastener kits from China
Dear Mr. Grieszmer:
In your letter dated June 6, 2016, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The products under consideration are two fastener kits that include an assortment of steel washers, nuts and screws in various sizes. You indicate that the first kit, identified as item 020-470, consists of 378 inch fasteners, including 82 lock washers, 94 flat washers, 76 hex nuts and 126 hex head cap screws. The second kit, identified as item 020-471, consists of 526 metric fasteners, including 104 flat washers, 120 lock washers, 100 hex nuts and 202 hex head cap screws. Submitted documentation indicates that a sizeable majority of the hex head cap screws measure 6 mm or more in diameter. Each kit is packaged in a transparent plastic compartmented box and is labelled for retail sale.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two 2 different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the article.
This office considers the subject fastener kits to be sets for tariff classification purposes. The essential character of each set is imparted by the hex head cap screws.
The applicable subheading for the fastener kits will be 7318.15.8066, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: threaded articles: other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: other: having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more: other: other: with hexagonal heads: other: cap screws. The duty rate will be 8.5 percent 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
Steel helical spring lock washers from China may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties (AD/CVD). Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You can contact them at http://trade.gov/enforcement/ (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” under “Popular Topics” at the top of the screen), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP’s AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division