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NY L89976




January 27, 2006

CLA-2-:RR:NC:N3:351 NY L89976

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5501.30.0000

Eric Argent
Quality Manager
Grafil, Inc.
5900 88th Street
Sacramento, CA 95828

RE: The tariff classification of acrylic filament tow from Japan

Dear Mr. Argent:

In your letter dated Jan. 6, 2006, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You submitted a sample of polyacrylanitrile fibers in the form of filament tow. For tariff purposes, tow must be composed of parallel filaments of a uniform length equal to the length of the tow and is further defined in Note 1, Chapter 55, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as follows:

(a) Length of tow exceeding 2 m;
(b) Twist less than 5 turns per meter;
(c) Measuring per filament less than 67 decitex; (d) Synthetic filament tow only; the tow must be drawn, that is to say, be incapable of being stretched by more than 100 percent of its length; and (e) Total measurement of tow more than 20,000 decitex.

Since the tow you have submitted consists of parallel filaments, the second issue is whether the tow satisfies the five requirements of Note 1.

According to your letter, the sample satisfies these requirements in all respects: the tow exceeds 2 meters in length (it is greater than 50,000 meters); it has fewer than 5 twists per meter (it is not twisted); it measures less than 67 decitex per filament (each filament is between 1.0 and 1.3 decitex); the tow cannot be stretched by more than twice its length (it cannot be stretched to more than 10% of its length); and the total measurement of the sample tow is more than 20,000 decitex (the total is between 24,000 and 31,000). Consequently, the sample tow meets the specifications of Note 1.

You state that the tow will be not be resold in this form, but will be carbonized to form carbon fiber, which will then be used in products such as golf club shafts, bows and arrows, bicycle frames, and aerospace applications.

The applicable subheading for the tow will be 5501.30.0000, HTSUS, which provides for synthetic filament tow: acrylic or modacrylic. The rate of duty will be 7.5% ad valorem.

Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.

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 Mitchel Bayer at 646-733-3102.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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