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HQ 555579


June 4, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:V 555579 LS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.80

Mr. Ed Sebastian
Purchasing Supervisor
Con-Force Structures Limited
P.O. Box 9520
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4G3

RE: Applicability of partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to a prestressed concrete pile, complete with a steel driving tip, imported from Canada

Dear Mr. Sebastian:

This is in response to your letters of January 17, 1990, and April 4, 1990, supplemented by your memorandum of May 8, 1990, requesting a ruling on the applicability of subheading 9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), to a prestressed concrete pile, complete with a steel driving tip, to be imported from Canada. Photographs of the components and diagrams of the product were submitted.

FACTS:

According to the information provided in your letters and in a telephone conversation with a member of my staff, Traylor Brothers, Inc. of Olympia, Washington, supplies the following U.S. origin components to you, free of charge, for assembly in Canada: (1) an embeddment consisting of an octagonal plate with eight reinforcing bars (rebars) and a ring, all of carbon steel; and (2) an attachment consisting of an H-Pile section with a cutting point; and (3) two deflector plates. The following operations occur in Canada. First, the embeddment is cast into a prestressed concrete pile by filling it with Canadian-origin concrete using a mold. When the concrete hardens, the octagonal plate is left exposed. Next, the attachment is welded to the embeddment at the point where the octagonal plate is exposed from the concrete. Finally, the deflector plates will be welded to the H-Pile section. The resulting prestressed concrete pile, complete with a steel driving tip, is then shipped to Traylor Brothers, Inc. in the U.S.

ISSUE:

Whether the prestressed concrete pile, complete with a steel driving tip, will qualify for the partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, when imported into the U.S.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides a partial duty exemption for:

[a]rticles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the product of the United States, which (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in such articles by change in form, shape or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and except by operations incidental to the assembly process such as cleaning, lubricating and painting.

All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, must be satisfied before a component may receive a duty allowance. An article entered under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, is subject to duty upon the full value of the imported assembled article less the cost or value of the U.S. components, upon compliance with the documentary requirements of section 10.24 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.24).

Section 10.16(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.16(a)), provides, in part, that:

The assembly operations performed abroad may consist of any method used to join or fit together solid components, such as welding, soldering, riveting, force fitting, gluing, laminating, sewing, or the use of fasteners, and may be preceded, accompanied, or followed by operations incidental to the assembly as illustrated in paragraph (b) of this section.

We find that the filling of the embeddment with concrete constitutes an acceptable subassembly since it results in the permanent joinder of the concrete with the embeddment. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 555580, dated April 2, 1990 (joinder of concrete with a metal cylinder by pouring concrete into the metal cylinder in a mold, vibrating the mold to expel air, curing the concrete at room temperature, and removing the resulting guide shoe constitutes an acceptable assembly operation for purposes of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS).

The next assembly operation consists of welding the attachment to the embeddment at the point where the octagonal plate is exposed from the concrete. Welding is specifically enumerated in 19 CFR 10.16(a) as one of the acceptable methods of assembly. The final step of welding the deflector plates to the H-Pile section also constitutes an acceptable assembly operation.

HOLDING:

Assuming that there are no other processes involved before, during, or after the assemblies other than those described herein, we find that the prestressed concrete pile, complete with a steel driving tip, will be eligible for the partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, when imported into the U.S., upon compliance with the documentary requirements of 19 CFR 10.24. An allowance in duty is permitted for the value of the U.S. components, consisting of the embeddment, attachment, and two deflector plates. No allowance is permitted for the cost or value of the concrete which is of Canadian origin.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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