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NY K88425




September 9, 2004

MAR-2 RR:NC:1:117 K88425

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. H.A. (Skip) Simons
Customs Consultants Canada Ltd.
3390 South Service Road
Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7N 3J5

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED STEEL TUBULAR PRODUCTS

Dear Mr. Simons:

This is in response to your letter dated August 6, 2004 on behalf of Boart Longyear Inc. requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for pipe, tube or pipe fittings of iron or steel. A photo of the product to be imported was submitted with your letter for review.

The products to be imported are described as steel drill rods used in the mining industry. These hollow rods of both alloy and nonalloy steel have outside diameters ranging from 1.75 inches to 5.50 inches and inside diameters ranging from 1.38 inches to 5.00 inches. These hollow rods or tubes are of welded construction. The ends of the rods are precision thread machined. Individual rods/tubes are bundled together for shipping and each bundle has an end cap which is marked to indicate the rods are manufactured in Canada. You express the opinion that these products are classifiable under HTS subheading 7228.80.0000, which provides for hollow drill bars and rods of alloy or non-alloy steel and ask whether marking the end caps rather than each individual rod/tube with the country of origin would be sufficient.

Hollow drill bars and rods of Chapter 72 (7228.80.0000) are defined in Chapter 72 Note 1. (p) as “Hollow bars and rods of any cross section, suitable for drills, of which the greatest external dimension of the cross section exceeds 15 mm but does not exceed 52 mm, and of which the greatest internal dimension does not exceed one half of the greatest external dimension.” Hollow drill bars and rods of Chapter 72 are also seamless tubular products. The product you describe as drill rods does not meet this Chapter 72 Note 1. (p) legal definition for hollow drill bars and rods. These drill rods do, however, conform to the description for iron and steel tubes and pipes of Chapter 73. Tubes and pipes are described, in part, as “Concentric hollow products of uniform cross-section with only one enclosed void along their whole length, having their inner and outer surfaces of the same form.” Tubes and pipes may be threaded. The products you plan to import are classifiable as other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seamed or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel under HTS heading 7306.

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.

19 U.S.C. 1304(c)(1), requires that all pipe (iron, steel, stainless steel), tube and pipe fittings (steel, stainless steel, chrome-moly steel or cast or malleable iron) shall be marked to indicate the proper country of origin by one of five methods, die stamping, cast-in-mold lettering, etching, engraving, or continuous paint stenciling. 19 U.S.C. 1304(c)(2), provides that if, because of the nature of an article, it is technically or commercially infeasible to mark by one of the five prescribed methods, the article may be marked by an equally permanent method of marking or in the case of small diameter pipe, tube or pipe fittings, by tagging the containers or bundles. T.D. 86-15 states that small diameter pipes are those having an I.D. of 1.9 inches or less.

The proposed method of marking the imported drill rods, as described above (marking the end caps on the bundles), does not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304(c) for any but the small diameter pipes and is not an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported drill rods. These drill rods must be individually marked with the country of origin by one of the five methods of marking indicated above.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Paula Ilardi at 646-733-3020.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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