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HQ 958820




June 26, 1996

CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 958820 RFA

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 3810.90.20, 8311.10.00

Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
477 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226

RE: Protest 3801-94-107760; Welding Wire; Universal Flux; Headings 3810, 7326, 8311; EN 38.10, 83.11

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding Protest 3801-94-107760, which concerns the classification of welding wire and universal flux under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The subject merchandise consists of a welding wire labeled as "Weldclad 3TR", and a granular gray-tan powder labeled as "Weldclad Universal Flux". The welding wire is composed of an uncoated wire with a hollow core containing a ferro-alloy powder.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 8311.10.00, HTSUS, as coated electrodes of base metal, for electric arc-welding. The entry was liquidated on November 14, 1994, for the welding wire under subheading 7326.90.90, HTSUS, as other articles of iron or steel, and for the universal flux under subheading 3810.10.00, HTSUS, as soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting of metal and other materials. The protest was timely filed on December 15, 1994.

Classification of the granular gray-tan powder under subheading 3810.90.20, HTSUS, as soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting wholly of inorganic substances, is also under consideration.

The 1994 subheadings under consideration are as follows:

3810: Pickling preparations for metal surfaces; fluxes and other auxiliary preparations for soldering, brazing or welding; soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting of metal and other materials; preparations of a kind used as cores or coatings for welding electrodes or rods:

3810.10.00: Pickling preparations for metal surfaces; soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting of metal and other materials. . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision had a general, column one rate of duty of 5 percent ad valorem.

3810.90.20: Other: [c]onsisting wholly of inorganic substances. . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general, column one rate of duty of free.

7326.90.90: Other articles of iron or steel: [o]ther: [o]ther: [o]ther . . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general, column one rate of duty of 5.7 percent ad valorem.

8311.10.00: Wire, rods, tubes, plates, electrodes and similar products of base metal or of metal carbides, coated or cored with flux material, of a kind used for soldering, brazing, welding or deposition of metal or of metal carbides. . . : [c]oated electrodes of base metal, for electric arc-welding. . . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general, column one rate of duty of free.

ISSUE:

Whether the welding wire contains flux material? Whether the granular powder by itself is classifiable as flux?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

According to the information provided by the protestant, the Universal Flux is made of several different inorganic substances and is provided for under heading 3810, HTSUS. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 FR 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). EN 38.10 provides in pertinent part:

(2) Fluxes and other auxiliary preparations for soldering, brazing or welding. Fluxes are used to facilitate the joining of the metals in the process of soldering, brazing or welding, by protecting the metal surfaces to be joined and the solder itself from oxidation. They have the property of dissolving the oxide which forms during the operation. Zinc chloride, ammonium chloride, sodium tetraborate, rosin and lanolin are the products most commonly used in these preparations.

This group also includes mixtures of aluminum granules or powder with various metallic oxides (e.g., iron oxide) used as intense heat-generators (alumino-thermic process) in welding operations, etc.

Samples of the gray-tan powder were submitted to Customs Laboratory for testing. Customs Laboratory Report 2-96-21209-001 dated March 18, 1996, supports the claim by the protestant that the gray-tan powder is a mixture of inorganic compounds which can be used as a flux. Therefore, we find that the powder is properly classifiable under subheading 3810.90.20, HTSUS, as flux made wholly of inorganic substances.

The protestant also states that the Weldclad 3TR is classifiable under heading 8311, HTSUS, as welding wire for electric arc welding. EN 83.11 states that:

This heading covers wire, rods, tubes, plates, electrodes and similar products, of base metal or of metal carbides, of a kind used for soldering, brazing, welding or deposition of metal or of metal carbides, provided they are coated or cored with flux material: in the latter case, the outer part is usually composed of a tube or sometimes of a spirally wrapped strip. Wire, rods, tubes, plates, electrodes, etc., of base metal not coated or cored with flux material are excluded (Chapters 72 to 76 and 78 to 81).

The materials used for coating or coring are the flux (e.g., zinc chloride, ammonium chloride, borax, quartz, resin or lanolin) which would otherwise have to be added separately during the soldering, brazing, welding or deposition process. The electrodes, etc., may also contain the additive metal in powder form. In electric welding, the coating may also contain some heat-resistant material (asbestos, etc.) to direct the electric arc onto the part to be welded.

For electric arc-welding, coated electrodes or cored wire are used. The former consists of a metal core and a coating of non-metal material which may be of various thicknesses and compositions. Cored wire is a hollow product filled with material similar to that used for the coating of electrodes. This wire is presented in coils or on spools.

Prepared metal brazing plates are inserted between the parts to be joined (usually for iron or steel). They consist of a metal strip, wire cloth or grill, coated with the flux; they may be specially shaped for use, or in strip form suitable for cutting as required.

The heading also includes wire and rods obtained by extruding base metal powder (usually nickel) agglomerated with an excipient based on plastics, and used for spraying metal onto various materials (e.g., metals or cement).

Customs Laboratory Report 3-94-31222-001 dated July 19, 1994, supports the claim by the protestant that the Weldclad 3TR is a wire cored with ferro-alloys. The ferro-alloy powder is the flux used in the automatic submerged arc welding process. Therefore, we find that the Weldclad 3TR is properly classifiable under subheading 8311.10.00, HTSUS, as coated electrodes of base metal, for electric arc-welding.

HOLDING:

The Weldclad 3TR is classifiable under subheading 8311.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for: "[w]ire, rods, tubes, plates, electrodes and similar products of base metal or of metal carbides, coated or cored with flux material, of a kind used for soldering, brazing, welding or deposition of metal or of metal carbides. . . : [c]oated electrodes of base metal, for electric arc-welding. . . . ."

The Universal Flux is classifiable under subheading 3810.90.20, HTSUS, which provides for: "[p]ickling preparations for metal surfaces; fluxes and other auxiliary preparations for soldering, brazing or welding; soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting of metal and other materials; preparations of a kind used as cores or coatings for welding electrodes or rods: [o]ther: [c]onsisting wholly of inorganic substances. . . ."

The protest should be GRANTED. In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals

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