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August 26, 1999

CLA-2-44:RR:NC:2:230 E85392

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4415.10.9000

Ms. Mary Ann Comstock
W. Y. Moberly, Inc.
P. O. Box 164
Sweetgrass, MT 59484

RE: The tariff classification of unassembled cable reels from Canada

Dear Ms. Comstock:

In your letter dated July 26, 1999, on behalf of your client, Universal Reel & Recycling Inc., you requested a tariff classification and a marking ruling.

The ruling was requested on cable reel components imported in sufficient quantities to make specific numbers and kinds of cable reels. A ruling (NY 876673 of August 18, 1992) was issued to your client (previously operating under the name of R & R Lumber Supplies) for cable reel components not imported in sufficient quantities to make specific numbers of cable reels.

The components necessary to make one cable reel consist of two flanges and a specific number of staves. The number of staves and the size of the staves and flanges depend on the customer’s order. A flange is the circular end of a reel. It is an assembled product consisting of two or three layers of wood boards nailed together. It has holes in the center and around the center. The staves consist of a specific number and size of wood boards necessary to make the middle drum part of the reel. The staves may be flat or curved.

The components will be shipped to an assembly plant in the United States owned by your client. In some cases the hardware will be included with the cable reel components at the time of importation. The hardware consists of rods, cupwashers and nuts. In other cases the hardware will be obtained in the United States. Each importation will have the exact number and size of flanges and staves necessary to make a specific quantity and kind of cable reels. No further work will be done to the components. Assembly with the addition of hardware is the only process that remains to be done in the United States.

Classification of goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI’s). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be first determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

Heading 4415, HTSUS, provides for:

Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; pallets, box-pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood.

GRI 2(a) provides that any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include that article when entered incomplete or unfinished (provided that the incomplete article has the essential character of the complete article) and when entered unassembled or disassembled.

The Explanatory Notes for heading 4415 provide a commentary on unassembled containers of this heading, as follows:

They may be unassembled or partly assembled, provided the wood is in sets of the parts necessary to make a complete container or an incomplete container having the essential character of a complete container. When wood is not in such sets, it is to be classified as sawn or planed wood, plywood, etc., as the case may be.

Unassembled cable reel components imported in exact numbers of pieces to make a specific number of cable reels are classifiable in heading 4415. Unassembled cable reels imported without their hardware are incomplete cable reels that have the essential character of complete cable reels.

The applicable tariff provision for the unassembled cable reels will be 4415.10.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings; cable drums; other. The general rate of duty will be 10.7 percent ad valorem.

In addition to the classification, you requested a country of origin marking ruling on the unassembled cable reels. You inquired if the marking could be waived on the basis of 19 C.F.R. 134.32(h).

In order to determine whether the ultimate purchaser necessarily or reasonably would know the country of origin of the unassembled cable reels by reason of the circumstances of their importation, detailed information regarding the transaction should be submitted. The seller, buyer, importer and ultimate purchaser should be identified. The circumstances of the sale including purchase orders, contracts and special instructions should be furnished. How would an ultimate purchaser receiving the completed assembled cable reels from an assembly plant in the United States necessarily know that the reels originated in Canada and not the United States? When this information is obtained, please resubmit your request for a marking ruling.

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

In the event it is determined that the imported goods are not being manufactured and used exactly as described in this ruling, the ruling will not be applicable to those goods. You should also be aware that the facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by the Customs Service.

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Paul Garretto at 212-637-7009.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski

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