CLA-2-38:OT:RR:NC:N3:139
Jacqueline LeHanh
GCP Applied Technologies Incorporated
2125 Lakeview Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30009
RE: The tariff classification and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of ADVA® Cast 575 from Canada
Dear Ms. LeHanh:
In your letter dated September 8, 2023, you requested a binding ruling on the eligibility of ADVA® Cast 575 under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). You also provided us with additional requested information via email on September 18, 2023
Our office had previously sent you an advisory information letter (N320081) for ADVA® Cast 575 that is produced at your facility in Houston TX for export from the United States, where we advised that ADVA® Cast 575 would fall under subheading 3824.40 Subsequently, you filed a ruling submission on the eligibility of ADVA® Cast 575 under the USMCA from a manufacturing facility your company was planning on locating in Vancouver, BC in Canada (N320824). We returned that ruling submission to you seeking further information & relevant source documents. You supplied the requested information & documents with this submission.
ADVA® Cast 575 is described as a high efficiency, low addition rate polycarboxylate-based high-range water reducer designed for the production of a wide range of concrete mixes, from conventional to self-consolidating concrete. It is designed to impart extreme workability without segregation to the concrete. It is said to be comprised of crude, & refined glycerol, sodium hydroxide, a blue colorant, two different types of biocides, a concrete admixture, and a polycarboxylic ether.
Water and the polycarboxylic ether are placed in a mixing vessel and agitated until they are at a uniform consistency. The concrete admixture, the crude, & the refined glycerol are then added to the mixing vessel and agitated until the substance in the vessel is at a uniform consistency. At this point, the biocide, & the blue colorant are then added to the mixing vessel and agitated until the substance in the vessel is at a uniform consistency. At this point, sodium hydroxide, and the other biocide are added to the mixing vessel and the combined substances are then mixed for a predetermined period of time. After this period of time, the mixing is stopped, and various quality control tests are run to see if the substance in the vessel falls within certain specified ranges for pH, specific gravity, and percentage of total solids. If the substance in the vessel do not fall within these ranges, sodium hydroxide, glacial acetic acid, and acetic acid are added until the quality control measurement ranges are met. Once the substance in the mixing vessel is considered a completed product, it is transferred to either a holding storage tank, or into packaging.
Classification:
The applicable subheading for ADVA® Cast 575 will be 3824.40.5000, 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: Prepared additives for cements, mortars or concretes: Other. The rate of duty will be 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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
USMCA:
The USMCA was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30, 2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the USMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note ("GN") 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b) sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is an originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN 11(b) states:
For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from the territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as a "good originating in the territory of a USMCA country" only if-
(i) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries;
(ii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries, exclusively from originating materials;
(iii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries using non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o));
Since the ADVA® Cast 575 contain non-originating ingredients, they are not considered a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i), nor are the products produced exclusively from originating materials per GN 11(b)(ii). Thus, we must determine whether the product qualifies under GN 11(b)(iii). As previously noted, ADVA® Cast 575 is classified under subheading 3824.40.5000, HTSUS.
In your submission, you state that ADVA® Cast 575 could qualify for consideration on the basis GN 11(n)(iv) which states:
A good of chapters 28 through 38, inclusive, that satisfies one or more of the provisions enumerated in this subdivision shall be treated as an originating good, except as otherwise specified in those rules. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, a good is an originating good if it meets the applicable change in tariff classification or satisfies the applicable value content specified in subdivision (o) of this note.
GN 11(n)(iv)(D) states further:
A good of chapters 28 through 38, except for a good of chapters 28, 29, or 32, headings 3301 or 3808, or subheadings 3502.11 through 3502.19 is an originating good if the deliberate and proportionally controlled mixing or blending (including dispersing) of materials other than the addition of diluents, to conform to predetermined specifications occurs in the territory of one or more of the USMCA countries, resulting in the production of a good having essential physical or chemical characteristics that are relevant to the purposes or uses of the good and are different from the input materials.
As the various components of ADVA® Cast 575 are mixed together in a deliberate fashion to predetermined specifications, it would then qualify for USMCA consideration under GN 11(n)(iv)(D).
Based on the facts provided, the goods described above qualify for USMCA preferential tariff treatment, because they will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 11(b)(iii). ADVA® Cast 575 will therefore be entitled to a free rate of duty under the USMCA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements.
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist John Bobel at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division