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NY B83438




April 15, 1997

CLA-2-90:RR:NC:1:119 B83438

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION MARKING

TARIFF NO.: 9018.39.0020; 9018.90.8000

Ms. Elva Arzate
Rudolph Miles & Sons, Inc.
P.O. Box 11057
El Paso, TX 79983

RE: The tariff classification, country of origin marking and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of Suction Kit and Urine Meter Tray Kit from Mexico; Article 509; NAFTA Marking Rules (Final)

Dear Ms. Arzate:

In your letter dated October 11, 1996, supplemented by your letter of March 11, 1997 you requested a ruling on the status of a Suction Kit and a Urine Meter Tray Kit from Mexico under the NAFTA. The request is being made on behalf of The Kendall Company / Kendall Healthcare Products, Mansfield, MA.

The articles to imported are a suction kit with catheter and a urine meter tray with Foley catheter assembled and packaged in Mexico for sale in the United States.

The Suction Kit is sterile packed in a sealed container and consists of the following: a suction catheter with control port, a latex glove, a pop-up basin (collapsible paper solution cup) and a sterile wrap. The catheter is manufactured in Mexico from tubing and a control port of U.S. origin. The tube is cut, punched and a tip is formed. It is then assembled with the control port (thumb control) using glue. The glove is from Malaysia and the cup and packaging materials are of U.S. origin.

The Urine Meter Tray Kit is sterile packed and contains about 14 items, including a urine meter drainage bag/silicone Foley catheter, latex glove, saline prefilled syringe, plastic forceps, Povidone iodine, and poly paper towels. The glove is from Malaysia and the urine meter drainage bag/catheter is assembled in Mexico from components of U.S. origin. All other items in the kit are of U.S. origin packaged in Mexico.

The urine meter drainage bag/silicone Foley catheter consists of approximately 9 components that are glued together. They are the following: Foley catheter, connector, latex tube (brown), plastic tubing (5 feet), blue connecting tubing, urine meter (graduated), drainage bag, blue drainage tube, and white clamp.

CLASSIFICATION:

The Suction Catheter Kit is a set whose essential character is imparted by the catheter. Therefore, based on rule 3(b) of the General Rules of Interpretation, the complete kit will be classified under the provision for catheters.

The applicable tariff provision for the Suction Catheter Kit will be 9018.39.0020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for syringes, needles, catheters... other. The general rate of duty will be 1.7 percent.

The Urine Meter Tray Kit is a set whose essential character is imparted by the Urine Meter Drainage Bag/Foley Catheter which is an article classifiable based on GRI 1 as other medical instruments. The applicable tariff provision for the Urine Meter Tray Kit will be 9018.90.8000, HTS, which provides for instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences... other. The general rate of duty will be 3.2 percent.

All the materials used in the two kits are originating with the exception of the latex surgical gloves from Malaysia which are articles of heading 4015. As part of the two sets, the surgical glove will have satisfied the change in tariff classification required under HTSUSA General Note 12(t)/90. Therefore under General Note 12(b) both sets will be eligible for a free rate of duty under the NAFTA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and agreements.

MARKING:

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.

The country of origin marking requirements for a "good of a NAFTA country" are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The rules used for determining the country of origin of a good imported from a NAFTA country are contained in 19 CFR Part 102 (Final Rule published as T.D. 96-48).

The two kits can be placed in the hierarchy of the NAFTA Marking Rules at CR 102.11(c) which states the following:

Where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section and the good is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set or mixture, or classified as a set, mixture or composite good pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, the country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of all materials that merit equal consideration for determining the essential character of the good.

No other item merits equal consideration with the catheter in Kit No. 3 or with the Urine Meter Drainage Bag/Catheter in Kit No. 4. Therefore for both kits the country of origin is Mexico and they should be marked accordingly. No other country of origin name should appear on the package. It should be noted that Section 134.43(e) of the Customs Regulations which covers "assembled articles" does not apply in this case. The two kits under consideration are packaged in Mexico, not "assembled". Only one article in each kit is assembled in Mexico.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181).
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.

This ruling letter is binding only as to the party to whom it is issued and may be relied on only by that party.

If you have any questions pertaining to this matter, please contact National Import Specialist Jacques Preston of this office at (212) 466-5488.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Chief, Metals & Machinery Branch

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