HQ 0224935 - Cable laid in the waters between the islands of Hawaii;exportation; drawback; foreign-trade zone; 19 CFR 101.1(k); 19 U.S.C. 1401(h); C.S.D. 81-167; Headquarters Ruling Letter DRA-2- 02-CO:R:C:E 221414, dated April 11, 1990 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule

faqs.org Rulings By Number Rulings By Category Tariff Numbers

faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1994 HQ Rulings > HQ 0224837 - HQ 0544644 > HQ 0224935

HQ 224935

September 17, 1993

DRA-2-02/FOR-2-03-CO:R:C:E 224935 JRS

CATEGORY: DRAWBACK FOREIGN TRADE ZONE

Mr. Thomas W. Hardy
District Director of Customs
Columbia-Snake District
511 NW Broadway, Suite 198
Portland, Oregon 97209

RE: Cable laid in the waters between the islands of Hawaii;exportation; drawback; foreign-trade zone; 19 CFR 101.1(k); 19 U.S.C. 1401(h); C.S.D. 81-167; Headquarters Ruling Letter DRA-2- 02-CO:R:C:E 221414, dated April 11, 1990

Dear Mr. Hardy:

This is in reply to your Internal Advice request of September 1, 1993, concerning the August 27, 1993, letter from STC Submarine Systems, Inc., requesting a ruling on the issue of "exportation" for underwater cable as it pertains to the drawback and foreign trade zone laws.

FACTS:

According to the facts provided in the August 27, 1993, letter, STC Submarine Systems is a potential supplier to GTE Hawaiian Telephone Corporation for about 482 kilometers of fiber optic cable to be laid between four Hawaiian Islands. STC states that 28 kilometers of the 482 kilometers will be laid on land, 30 kilometers in Hawaiian territorial waters (within the 3 mile limit on each end of the 3 undersea components), and the remaining 424 kilometers will be laid in international waters between the islands. The company states they may use already finished cable made from duty-paid components, or make new cable from duty-free FTZ materials. It is the company's position that the "cable laid in the international waters between the islands should be considered "exported" for Customs purposes." This issue directly impacts the company's proposed pricing structure.

ISSUE:

Whether Customs considers a cable laid in the waters between the islands of Hawaii to be "exported" for Customs purposes pertaining to the drawback and foreign trade zone laws.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

An "exportation" is defined as "a severance of goods from the mass of things belonging to this country with the intention of uniting them with a mass of things belonging to some foreign country." See Swan & Finch Co. v. United States, 190 U.S. 143 (1903) and 19 CFR 101.1(k)(emphasis added).

Customs has ruled that underwater communications cable, manufactured wholly or partly in the United States with foreign components, is "exported" for drawback purposes when it is laid between the international waters of the United States and a foreign country. See Customs Service Decision (CSD) 81-167 (copy enclosed).

Customs has re-affirmed this position in Headquarters Ruling Letter 221414, dated April 11, 1990 (copy enclosed), holding that drawback is permissible only on the portion of the underwater cable laid in the international waters from Guam to Japan, but not on the portion of cable laid between Guam and Hawaii because shipments to Guam are not considered exportations to a foreign country citing CSD 79-77.

In this case, likewise, the installation of underwater cable between the four Hawaiian islands can under no circumstances constitute an "exportation" of the cable within the meaning of the above-stated definition since the islands of Hawaii are part of the State of Hawaii, which is a State of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1401(h)), and therefore, cables are not exported for drawback purposes when installed to connect one U.S. point to another U.S. point, despite its traversing international waters.

Foreign merchandise may be brought into a foreign-trade zone and manufactured and later exported therefrom without the payment of duty in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act (19 U.S.C. 81c(a)). However, "exportation" for the purpose of the foreign-trade zone law is the same as for the drawback laws as defined above in Swan & Finch, supra, and the Customs Regulations.

In view of the foregoing, shipment of cable between U.S. points rather than to a foreign country would not constitute an "exportation," and consequently, duty would be payable when the manufactured cable was withdrawn from the foreign-trade zone. We emphasize, however, that the foreign cable materials while in a foreign-trade zone are conditionally free merchandise, not "duty- free" as the company suggests, until the merchandise enters the customs territory of the United States (19 CFR 101.1(e)) and is subject to the entry procedures and the payment of any applicable duty.

HOLDING:

Underwater communications cable installed between the four islands of Hawaii is not considered to be "exported" for purposes of either the drawback or foreign-trade zone laws since the cable connects together the Hawaiian islands and not foreign countries.

You may provide a copy of this decision to the inquirer with a copy of the enclosures.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Previous Ruling Next Ruling