HQ 951872 - Twinfast Thread (Double Lead) Screw; Wood Screw, Item 646.49, TSUS; Tapping Screw, Item 646.60, TSUS; PRD 1501-89-000051 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 951872

SEPTEMBER 10, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 951872 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 646.49, TSUS

District Director of Customs
One Virginia Avenue
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401

RE: Twinfast Thread (Double Lead) Screw; Wood Screw, Item 646.49, TSUS; Tapping Screw, Item 646.60, TSUS; PRD 1501-89-000051

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1501-89-000051, dated November 15, 1989, filed by Fastec Industrial Corp. The merchandise in issue is hardened, steel, twinfast thread (double lead) tapping screws. A sample was submitted.

FACTS:

Protestant describes the merchandise as a phillips flat type A 1018 plain, twinfast 2/3 thread, #10 punch tapping screw. The sample is a 1 1/4 inch long steel fastener with a twin thread spiralling up from the point along 2/3 of the tapered shank and a round, Phillips recessed head.

The merchandise was entered under item 646.60, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), a provision for other screws having shanks or threads not over 0.24 inch in diameter. Protestant maintains that the instant screw is a type A, size 8 tapping screw suitable for use in thin sheets of metal and conforms to ANSI specification B 18.6.4 for metal tapping screws. In addition, they are in compliance with Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard J-933 for materials, mechanical and performance standards, specifically as to hardness, which protestant claims is a characteristic not common to wood screws. Protestant maintains that under the TSUS wood screws are distinguishable from tapping screws by hardness.

You observe that these fasteners conform to a recognized industry standard for wood screws. You also note that these fasteners are bought and sold as wood screws. Accordingly, you - 2 -
liquidated the entry under item 646.49, TSUS, a provision for wood screws of iron or steel.

ISSUE:

Whether fasteners represented by the sample are wood screws for tariff purposes.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The provision for other screws in item 646.60, TSUS, is subject to the superior heading which limits the articles enumerated therein to those not described in the foregoing provisions of Subpart D to Part 3 of Schedule 6. Therefore, if screws the subject of this protest are wood screws for tariff purposes, they must be classified in item 646.49, TSUS.

Classification of a screw in item 646.49 is not based on actual use or on suitability for use. The test is whether it belongs to a class or kind chiefly used in wood. Customs has long been of the opinion that the most objectively verifiable standard for differentiating wood screws from tapping or other metal screws is by dimensional standards specified by or on behalf of the industry in which these fasteners are used. For this reason, Customs traditionally classifies threaded fasteners in accordance with the majority of their design characteristics which, in a TSUS context, are the best available evidence of their chief use. We utilize American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifications because they are recognized dimensional standards. ANSI/ASME designation B18.6.1 is the most widely accepted and comprehensive fastener industry standard for wood screws.

First, protestant's claim that the subject screws are suitable for use in thin sheets of metal is undocumented in the record. Even if accurate, however, this may be evidence of actual use, but not chief use.

Second, the concerned National Import Specialist examined the submitted sample and notes that it does not conform to any specification in standard B18.6.4. The submitted sample has a twinfast thread. No standard for type A tapping screws provides for twinfast threads. However, twinfast threads are provided for as options in wood screws. Also, the unthreaded shank portion of tapping screws longer than 1 inch is 1/2 inch. The sample has an unthreaded shank length of 5/16 inch. This shank length, however, is well within the parameters for standard wood screws.

Third, as to the hardness issue, protestant cites HQ ruling 069841, dated March 31, 1983, among others, for the proposition that screws conforming to the SAE J-933b hardness standard cannot be classified as wood screws. This ruling held that screws not meeting the Rockwell C45 minimum hardness test in standard - 3 -

SAE J-933b are wood screws, unless found to be chiefly used in materials other than wood. Ruling 069841 should not be interpreted as saying that screws that do meet the cited hardness test cannot be wood screws. Recognized industry standards for wood screws provide for hardening as an option. Hardened screws are widely used in furniture applications to withstand the torsional stresses inherent in wood furniture.

HOLDING:

Fasteners represented by the submitted sample do not meet any recognized industry standard for type A tapping screws. Such fasteners do, however, closely resemble ANSI/ASME standard B18.6.1 for wood screws.

The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and mailed to the protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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