HQ 0087977 - Protest and Request for Further Review 3001-9-000986, dated September 5, 1989; fasteners; screws; bolts; studs - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 087977

December 5, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087977 JMH

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.50

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
909 First Ave., Room 2039
Seattle, WA 98174

RE: Protest and Request for Further Review 3001-9-000986, dated September 5, 1989; fasteners; screws; bolts; studs

Dear Sir:

The following is our decision regarding the Protest and Request for Further Review No. 3001-9-000986, dated September 5, 1989. At issue is the classification of certain steel threaded articles imported from Japan.

FACTS:

The articles in question are daisy head steel threaded articles imported from Japan. The articles are composed of passivated stainless steel and are used as truck battery terminal posts. They are threaded over approximately half of their shanks. The unthreaded portion of each article is angled to a greater diameter than the threaded potion. The threaded articles' heads consist of a washer and hexagonal head. The hex is .098-,088" high, and the overall dimensions of the articles are 3/8-16 X 1.06".

The importer states that the threaded articles are designed for and sold to a single customer, a manufacturer of truck batteries. Battery cables are attached to the steel articles and the articles are used to secure the cables to the battery terminal. The hexagonal heads of these threaded articles are encapsulated in the plastic battery housing and are completely inaccessible. The plastic anchors the threaded articles' heads while the threaded ends protrude from the top of the battery. The battery cables are attached to the articles by clamps. The threaded articles are never torqued. They are secured by the battery housing while a clamp is attached to the exposed threaded portion of each steel article.

Upon entry the steel threaded articles were classified in subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated ("HTSUSA"), as "Other screws and bolts...Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment..." The threaded articles were liquidated under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUSA, as "Other screws and bolts...Other...Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more..."

ISSUE:

What is the appropriate classification for the daisy head steel threaded articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation ("GRIs"). GRI 1 states in part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes and...according ..to the following provisions." There is no dispute that the relevant six digit subheading is subheading 7318.15, HTSUSA. This subheading describes:

7318.15 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel...Threaded articles...Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers...

GRI 6, HTSUSA, one of "the following provisions" mentioned in GRI 1, requires that the GRIs be used to determine the appropriate eight digit subheading as they are used for the determination of the correct four and six digit classifications. There are three subheadings at the eight digit level in contention. They are subheadings 7318.15.20, 7318.15.50, and 7318.15.80, HTSUSA. These subheadings describe:

7318.15.20 ...Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment...

7318.15.50 ...Studs...

7318.15.80 ...Other...Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more...

GRIs 6 and 1 require that the articles being classified must meet the terms of the subheading. The threaded articles in question are used for the attachment of the battery cables to the terminal. The battery cables are attached to the articles threaded protuberance. It is the opinion of this office that the subject steel threaded articles are "studs."

Internal Advice #101/84, dated February 15, 1989, dealt with the classification of steel studs under the former Tariff Schedules of the United States ("TSUS"). That ruling held:

Studs...are normally short rods or pins threaded on one or both ends, sometimes with heads on one end to allow them to be fixed in place resulting in a protuberance to which other articles are attached by means of a nut.

Headquarters Ruling 074004 ("HQ 074004"), dated April 3, 1986, also addressed the classification of studs under TSUS. HQ 074004 stated:

A stud is a type of bolt, but is distinguished from "bolts" by its application. That is, a stud is usually anchored and provides a projection to which something may be fastened.

HQ 074004 was based upon the Customs Court decision in Fastening Devices, Inc. v. United States, 40 Cust. Ct. 345, C.D. 2004 (1958). In this case articles of which "the shank end is inserted in steel or concrete or similar material, and the threaded portion of the item protrudes from the surface so as to permit of an attachment to be made..." were found to be studs.

The subject steel hexagonal threaded articles are "studs." They are properly classified in subheading 7315.15.50.

HOLDING:

In accordance with GRIs 6 and 1, the daisy head steel threaded articles imported from Japan are studs. As studs, they are properly classified in subheading 7315.15.50, which describes "Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel...Threaded articles...Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers...Studs..."

You should deny the protest except to the extent that the reclassification of the merchandise as indicated above results in a partial allowance. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Form 19 Notice of Action for the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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