HQ 0083368 - Request for further review of protest No. 1704-6-00297 concerning the classification of clicker die steel in coils - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 083368

June 11, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083368 TLS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 609.84

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
1-3 East Bay Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401

RE: Request for further review of protest No. 1704-6-00297 concerning the classification of clicker die steel in coils

Dear Sir:

Application for further review of protest 1704-6-00297 covering certain entries involving the classification of clicker die steel under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) has been referred to this office. Our reply is discussed in detail below.

FACTS:

The merchandise at issue is described as clicker die steel or die steel in coils. It is composed of carbon steel and is intended to be used in cutting blades or dies for cutting soft materials. The die steel is 0.080 to 0.157 inches thick (approximately 2.03 to 3.988 mm) and 0.730 to 2.0 inches (approx. 18.54 to 50.8 mm) in width with a beveled edge.

The clicker die steel is produced by taking a hot rolled steel coil and cold rolling it to the desired thickness. It is then slit to the required width and the beveled edge is rolled or stamped into the cross section of the cutting blade. The coil is then hardened in a furnace. After being hardened, the beveled edge is sharpened and the cutting edge is hardened. The coils are then strapped, wrapped, and packaged.

ISSUE:

Under which of the following TSUS items is the clicker die steel properly classifiable:

609.14, TSUS, covering plates, sheets, and strip, all the foregoing, of iron or steel, cut, pressed, or stamped to nonrectangular shape; other than alloy iron or steel;

609.84, TSUS, covering angles, shapes, and sections, all the foregoing, of iron or steel, hot rolled, forged, extruded, or drawn, or cold formed or cold finished, whether or not drilled, punched, or otherwise advanced; sheet piling of iron or steel; other than alloy iron or steel.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The importer argues that the die steel coil is a strip classifiable under TSUS item 609.14. A strip is defined under TSUS Schedule 6, Part 2, Subpart B, headnote 3(h), as "a flat rolled product whether or not corrugated or crimped, in coils or cut to length, under 0.1875 inch in thickness, and if cold rolled, over 0.50 inch but not over 12 inches in width...." The subject article cannot be considered a flat rolled product because the beveled edge is rolled into the surface of the product, thus working it beyond what is considered flat rolled. We refer to two Customs Court cases to illustrate our point.

In Sandvik Steel, Inc. v. United States, 75 Cust. Ct. 68, C.D. 4609 (1975), the court held that shoe die knife steel was properly classifiable as a shape because it had been advanced beyond a strip. It was held in another case that a product is classifiable as an angle, shape, or section when it is advanced to the point where it is dedicated for a particular use. Pistorino & Co. v. United States, 69 Cust. Ct. 48, C.D. 4373 (1972). In the present case, the steel has been rolled and worked to the point that when it is ultimately completed it will be used as a blade for cutting soft materials. It has been beveled on one edge and the edge has been sharpened and hardened with that particular use in mind. Furthermore, this merchandise cannot be classified as a strip cut, pressed, or stamped to non- rectangular shape because during its manufacture it has never been a strip which is then cut, pressed, or stamped. In fact, it is a rolled shape which has not been cut, pressed, or stamped. Therefore, we find the clicker die steel to be properly classifiable as a shape of other than alloy iron or steel under item 609.84, TSUS.

HOLDING:

The clicker die steel is classified under item 609.84, TSUS, as a shape, cold formed and advanced, of other than alloy iron or steel. The above-referenced protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the form 19, Notice of Action.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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