NY 886814 - The tariff classification of perforated tubes from Canada - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY 886814

June 11, 1993
CLA-2-87:S:N:N1:101-886814

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8708.29.0060

Mr. Andrew P. Vance
Barnes, Richardson & Colburn
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016

RE: The tariff classification of perforated tubes from Canada

Dear Mr. Vance:

In your letter dated May 27, 1993, on behalf of Greening Donald Co. Ltd., Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, you requested a tariff classification ruling. You have submitted samples of the products.

The imported products are perforated tubes. The three samples you supplied are each 9/16 inches in diameter. They are, respectively, 8 7/8 inches in length, 10 1/16 inches in length, and 10 13/16 inches in length. The metal is cold-rolled steel, approximately 1/32 inches thick, which has been perforated with rows of 5/32 inch holes, so as to create a mesh design. The perforated steel has been cut to size, bent into a tubular shape along its extended dimension, and the edges are welded together to form a tube. There is a margin of 1/4 inch of unperforated steel at each end of the tube. A notch has been cut in each end of the tube for the purpose of locating the tube in place when it is further manufactured in the United States, and also for the purpose of fitting and securing the tube to its mating parts when it is assembled in the United States.

You state that these cut outs, or notches, dedicate these tubes to a particular application. The final product, after assembly in the United States, will be a passenger-side air-bag. The imported parts are intended to be sold to purchasers for use as original equipment in the manufacture in the United States of a passenger automobile. The steel is wholly made in Canada from Canadian ore.

In their imported condition, the perforated tubes have been cut to size, have unperforated margins at each end, and are notched for the purpose of assembly into an automobile air-bag. The subject tubes are specifically used for the passenger-side air-bag that will be installed into the dashboard of the automobile (unlike the driver-side air-bag which is installed into the steering wheel of the automobile). The dashboard forms part of the body of a motor vehicle.

The applicable subheading for the subject perforated tubes, which will be assembled into an automobile passenger-side air- bag, will be 8708.29.0060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other parts and accessories of motor vehicle bodies. The rate of duty will be 3.1 percent ad valorem.

Goods classifiable under subheading 8708.29.0060, HTS, which originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a 1.5 percent rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

The fact that the tubes are products to be used with motor vehicles and that they are being imported from Canada raises the applicability of the Automotive Products Trade Act of 1965 (APTA). APTA allows certain motor vehicle equipment imported from Canada to enter duty free. The APTA provisions, effective as of January 1, 1989, are found within General Note 3(c)(iii), HTS. General Note 3(c)(iii), HTS, states in part the following:

Automotive Products and Motor Vehicles Eligible for Special Tariff Treatment. Articles entered under the Automotive Products Trade Act are subject to the following provisions:

(A) Motor vehicles and original motor-vehicle equipment which are Canadian articles and which fall in provisions for which the rate of duty "Free (B)" appears in the "Special" subcolumn may be entered free of duty. As used in this note

(1) The term "Canadian article" means an article which originates in Canada, as defined in subdivision (c)(vii) of this note.

(2) The term "original motor-vehicle equipment" as used with reference to a Canadian article
(as defined above), means such a Canadian article which has been obtained from a supplier in Canada under or pursuant to a written order, contract or letter of intent of a bona fide motor vehicle manufacturer in the United States, and which is a fabricated component originating in Canada, as defined in subdivision (c)(vii) of this note, and intended for use as original equipment in the manufacture in the United States of a motor vehicle, but the term does not include trailers or articles to be used in their manufacture.

(3) The term "motor vehicle", as used in this note, means a motor vehicle of a kind described in headings 8702, 8703 and 8704 of chapter 87 (excluding an electric trolley bus and a three- wheeled vehicle) or an automobile truck tractor principally designed for the transport of persons or goods.

(4) The term "bona fide motor-vehicle manufacturer" means a person, who, upon application to the Secretary of Commerce, is determined by the Secretary to have produced no fewer than 15 complete motor vehicles in the United States during the previous 12 months, and to have installed capacity in the United States to produce 10 or more complete motor vehicles per 40 hour week....

The steel for the product is wholly made in Canada from Canadian ore, the product is not a mere material but is a fabricated component, and the product will be used in passenger automobiles that are classified in heading 8703, HTS. Upon appropriate certification of the motor-vehicle manufacturer, the subject perforated tubing may be eligible for a free rate of duty under APTA.

As you requested, the samples will be returned to your office.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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