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NY J81665




March 11, 2003

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:110 J81665

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8471.70.5065

Mr. James B. Williams
9845 SW Ventura Ct.
Portland, OR 97223

RE: The tariff classification of a pocket size magnetic storage unit from China.

Dear Mr. Williams:

In your letter dated February 24, 2003 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The merchandise under consideration is a pocket size USB 2.0 Digital Multi-Gigabyte Magnetic Storage Unit, designed to be a portable hard drive for a PC or Notebook computer. A sample was supplied with your ruling request and will be retained by this office. This unit is a magnetic hard disk drive encased within a metal housing with plastic end plates and measures approximately 3” wide by ½” high and is 5” deep. The plastic end plate that serves as the front of the unit has an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a six-pin in line male receptacle with five active pins. A connecting cable is supplied with the unit and has the female plug used to insert into the receptacle. The other end of the supplied cable has a USB 2.0 port connector and a 17” attached extension with a combination male/female round six-pin mouse/keyboard connector. This unit will be available in 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80GBs (GigaByte). With the USB 2.0 interface, large amounts of data may be transferred at rates of up to 480 Mbps (MegaBits Per Second). This unit does not have any internal power supply; it secures its power from the host PC or Notebook computer through the USB port connector.

In your letter you suggest classification under 8471.70.3000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). Classification under 8471.70.3000 HTS would be reserved for magnetic disks of a diameter exceeding 21cm only. The USB 2.0 Digital Multi-Gigabyte Magnetic Storage Unit is less then 21cm and is encased within its own housing or cabinet. Therefore, it is properly classified under 8471.70.5065, HTS.

The applicable subheading for the USB 2.0 Digital Multi-Gigabyte Magnetic Storage Unit will be 8471.70.5065, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for “Automatic data processing machines and units thereofStorage units: Magnetic disk drive units: Other: Other: Hard magnetic disk drive units.” The rate of duty will be free.

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

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 Eileen S. Kaplan at 646-733-3016.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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