CLA-2-73:OT:RR:NC:N1:113
Mr. Robert D. Stang Husch Blackwell LLP 750 17th St. N.W., Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20006-4675
RE: The tariff classification of steel ground screws from China
Dear Mr. Stang:
In your letter dated December 9, 2019, on behalf of your client H&K Smart Fence, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling on ground screws. In response to our request for additional information, this office received answers to our questions in your letter dated January 14, 2020. Marketing literature and pictures of the subject ground screws were provided for our review.
You indicated in your letter that the products under consideration are identified as ground screws made from alloy steel. You stated in your letter that “Each ground screw is manufactured in part by welding a spiral screw blade to a pipe pile. The top of each ground screw connects to a flange enabling the ground screw to be attached to an above-ground component…The bottom of the ground screw is manufactured with a regular tip or a flat tip.” The length of the ground screw ranges from 600 mm to 4,500 mm with diameters ranging from 50 mm to 450 mm and wall thickness ranging from 2 mm to 6 mm. The steel ground screws are screwed into the ground and used to support above ground structures including posts, poles, fences, etc. in various household, industrial and construction applications.
You proposed classification for the subject ground screws under subheading 7318.15.5051, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for studs of iron or steel; or under subheading 7318.19.0000, HTSUS, which provides for other threaded articles of iron or steel. However, this office disagrees because the construction of the subject ground screws, “manufactured in part by welding a spiral screw blade to a pipe pile”, is more than a fastener of heading 7318. Therefore the subject ground screw is not of the same class or kind of goods enumerated in heading 7318, HTSUS.
Consideration was also given to heading 7308, HTSUS, which includes structures and parts of structures. The subject ground screws are anchored into the ground where they are used as support for various structures. As support structures, they are clearly distinguishable from structures or parts of structures under heading 7308, HTSUS, and therefore cannot be classified under heading 7308.
The applicable subheading for the steel ground screws will be 7326.90.8688, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of iron or steel, other, other…other. The rate of duty will be 2.9 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.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 7326.90.8688, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an 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 7326.90.8688, HTSUS, listed above.
The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china, respectively.
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 Ann Taub at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division