CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N4:415
Ms. Beth Zaffran
Robinson Home Products, Inc.
170 Lawrence Bell Drive, Suite 110
Williamsville, NY 14221
RE: The tariff classification for cheese knives and slicing utensils from China.
Dear Ms. Zaffran:
In your letter dated June 27, 2019, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The articles under consideration are described as cheese knives and slicing utensils. They are listed as Robinson Home Products item numbers: 80304 (wire cheese slicer), 80305 (hard cheese slicer), 80307 (cheese plane), 80309 (parmesan knife), and 80313 (Dutch cheese knife). They are all constructed with acacia wood handles and feature a blade or cutting component of stainless steel. These articles are intended to be used in the household for slicing different types of cheeses depending on their hardness.
The wire cheese slicer has a stainless steel frame and utilizes a slicing wire to cut soft and semi-soft cheeses. The hard cheese slicer is a multipurpose knife that has a curved blade with a pronged tip, which can be used to pick up pieces of cheese, and is intended to slice both hard and soft cheeses. The cheese plane has a head shaped like a mini shovel and has a thin, sharp strip blade in the middle of the base that shaves thin pieces of cheese from a larger block and is used with semi-soft to semi-hard cheeses. The parmesan knife has a pointed blade to break apart hard cheeses and has a curved side edge that is sharpened for slicing. The Dutch knife has a long, curved blade with a smaller handle at the tip with a larger, main handle at the base.
In your request, you proposed subheading 8214.90.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) for the parmesan knife, item number 80309. This heading provides for in pertinent part “[o]ther articles of cutlery (for example, hair clippers, butchers' or kitchen cleavers, chopping or mincing knives, paper knives).” You reasoning is based on this knife not having a traditional shape. We disagree. Please refer to Headquarters ruling 954177, dated July 30, 1993. In this ruling, it stated that while that subject knife “does not have the traditional shape of a knife, it is principally used as a knife for cutting. It is not a chopper or mincer.” This parmesan knife is also intended as a knife for cutting and not as a chopper or mincer. Thus, this article is more appropriately classified as a knife of heading 8211.
The applicable subheading for the wire cheese slicer, item number 80304, will be 8205.51.3030, HTSUS, which provides for “[h]andtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included; blow torches and similar self-contained torches; vises, clamps and the like, other than accessories for and parts of machine tools; anvils; portable forges; hand- or pedal-operated grinding wheels with frameworks; base metal parts thereof: [o]ther handtools (including glass cutters) and parts thereof: [h]ousehold tools, and parts thereof: [o]f iron or steel: [o]ther (including parts): [k]itchen and table implements.” The column one, general rate of duty is 3.7 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the hard cheese slicer and parmesan knife, item numbers 80305 80309 respectively, will be 8211.92.9030, HTSUS, which provides for “[k]nives with cutting blades, serrated or not (including pruning knives), other than knives of heading 8208, and blades and other base metal parts thereof: [o]ther: [o]ther knives having fixed blades: [o]ther: [o]ther: [k]itchen and butcher knives.” The column one, general rate of duty is 0.4 cent each plus 6.1 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Dutch cheese knife, item number 80313, HTSUS, will be 8214.90.6000, which provides for “[o]ther articles of cutlery (for example, hair clippers, butchers’ or kitchen cleavers, chopping or mincing knives, paper knives); manicure or pedicure sets and instruments (including nail files); base metal parts thereof: [o]ther: [c]leavers and the like not elsewhere specified or included: [o]ther. The column one, general rate of duty is 0.2 cents each plus 3.1 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the cheese plane, item number 80307, will be 8214.90.9000, HTSUS, which provides for “[o]ther articles of cutlery (for example, hair clippers, butchers' or kitchen cleavers, chopping or mincing knives, paper knives); manicure or pedicure sets and instruments (including nail files); base metal parts thereof: [o]ther: [o]ther (including parts).” The column one, general rate of duty is 1.4 cents each plus 3.2 percent ad valorem.
Effective July 6, 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) imposed an additional tariff on certain products of China classified in the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(b), HTSUS. The USTR imposed additional tariffs, effective August 23, 2018, on products classified under the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(d), HTSUS. Subsequently, the USTR imposed further tariffs, effective September 24, 2018, on products classified under the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(f) and U.S. Note 20(g), HTSUS. For additional information, please see the relevant Federal Register notices dated June 20, 2018 (83 F.R. 28710), August 16, 2018 (83 F.R. 40823), and September 21, 2018 (83 F.R. 47974). See also “Notice of Action and Request for Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation” (June 20, 2018, 83 F.R. 28710). Products of China that are provided for in subheading 9903.88.01, 9903.88.02, 9903.88.03, or 9903.88.04 and classified in one of the subheadings enumerated in U.S. Note 20(b), U.S. Note 20(d), U.S. Note 20(f) or U.S. Note 20(g) to subchapter III shall continue to be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other duties, fees and charges that apply to such products, as well as to those imposed by the aforementioned Chapter 99 subheadings. Products of China classified under subheading 8205.51.3030, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to the additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 8205.51.3030, HTSUS, listed above.
The tariff is subject to periodic amendment so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Notice cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading.
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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 Kristopher Burton at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division