CLA-2-38:OT:RR:NC:N1:139
Maureen Celmer
Welke Customs Brokers USA, Inc.
36 Delaware St
Tonawanda NY 14032
RE: The tariff classification, country of origin and status under the NAFTA of two products: A Skin Mimicking Material and the Chemical Compound 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (CAS registry number 172612-67-8)
Dear Ms. Celmer,
In your letter dated September 21, 2018, you requested a tariff classification ruling, on behalf of your client Suncayr, on tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for two products, A Skin Mimicking Material and the Chemical Compound 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (CAS registry number 172612-67-8)
Item 1-- A Skin Mimicking Material
The first product is described as a skin mimicking material that has been made in Canada by Suncayr. To create this material, the ingredients are mixed at an elevated temperature that will allow them to become dissolved into the water. Once the ingredients are dissolved in the water, the material is then allowed to cool at a specific rate that will cause the formation of a gel material. When this gel is later converted in the manufacturing process to a thin film, it will exhibit the properties of skin mimicking with respect to the design of an end-manufactured product. The skin mimicking material is not designed or intended for any medical devices or purposes, but is intended to act like skin with respect to the wearing away of creams on a photochromic color changing sticker that will be made in the U.S.
Item 2 -- Chemical Compound 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (CAS registry number 172612-67-8)
The second product is a chemical compound described as 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene with a CAS registry number of 172612-67-8 and is made by Suncayr in Canada. The chemical is in powder form and is used as the color changing material. It is not designed or intended for any medical devices or purposes, but is intended to be used as an ink in the creation of a photochromic color changing sticker that will be made in the U.S.
CLASSIFICATION:
The applicable subheading for the first item, Skin Mimicking Material, will be 3824.99.9297, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for: Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 5 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (CAS registry number of 172612-67-8) will be 2934.99.3900 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Nucleic acids and their salts, whether or not chemically defined; other heterocyclic compounds: Other: Other: Aromatic or modified aromatic: Other: Other: Products described in additional U.S. note 3 to section VI." The rate of duty will be 6.5 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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
NAFTA - LAW AND ANALYSIS:
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.
Item 1-- A Skin Mimicking Material
Based on the information provided and subsequent submissions, the final product contains non-originating materials (i.e. those that were produced in countries other than Canada, the United States, or Mexico). As a result, to qualify for NAFTA treatment under the terms of General Note 12(b)(ii)(a), each non-originating material must undergo the change in tariff classification set forth in General Note 12(t).
The relevant change in tariff classification rule for subheading 3824.90, states, in part, the following:
A change to any other good of subheading 3824.90 from any other chapter, except from chapters 28 through 37.
Skin Mimicking Material contains materials from a country outside the NAFTA territory, specifically Japan. Based on initial information provided and subsequent submissions, the materials undergo the required change in tariff classification and, therefore, this request for NAFTA originating status is granted on the basis of General Note 12(b), HTSUS.
Item 2 -- Chemical Compound 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (CAS registry number 172612-67-8)
Based on the facts provided, the goods described above will not qualify for NAFTA preferential treatment, because they will not meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(t).
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 Patrick Day at [email protected] for the Skin Mimicking Material or Paul Hodgkiss at [email protected] for the chemical compound.
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division