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NY M81806




April 10, 2006

CLA-2-39:RR:NC:SP:221 M81806

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION MARKING

TARIFF NO.: 3917.22.0000

Mr. Sean Cole
Schering Plough Corp.
3070 Route 22 West
Branchburg, NJ 08876

RE: The tariff classification and country of origin marking requirements for a polypropylene tube from China.

Dear Mr. Cole:

In your letter dated March 22, 2006, you requested a ruling on the tariff classification and country of origin marking requirements for a plastic tube.

The submitted sample is a polypropylene plastic tube measuring approximately 1.25 inches in length. The tube is open on each end. After importation one end will be fitted with an applicator pad. This open tube is used to dispense wart removal medication from an aerosol can through the length of the tube to the applicator pad.

The applicable subheading for the polypropylene plastic tube will be 3917.22.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings therefor (for example, joints, elbows, flanges), of plastics: tubes, pipes and hoses, rigid: of polymers of propylene. The rate of duty will be 3.1 percent 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/.

You also requested a ruling on whether the tubes are required to be individually marked with the country of origin since after importation they are processed in the U.S. by a U.S. manufacturer.

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.

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d) defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. 19 CFR 134.1(d)(1) states that if an imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser if he subjects the imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article. The case of U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940), provides that an article used in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character or use differing from that of the constituent article will be considered substantially transformed and that the manufacturer or processor will be considered the ultimate purchaser of the constituent materials. In such circumstances, the imported article is excepted from marking and only the outermost container is required to be marked. See, 19 CFR 134.35.

After importation the tubes will be fitted with applicator tips and packaged with aerosol wart remover medication. In use, the tube/applicator is attached to a removable activator on top of the pressurized can of medication. When the activator is depressed, medication to freeze the wart is dispensed through the tube onto the applicator tip. The consumer presses the moistened tip to the wart to apply the medication. In this case, the U.S. manufacturer of the wart removal kit is the ultimate purchaser of the imported tubes and under 19 CFR 134.35 only the containers which reach the ultimate purchaser are required to be marked with the country of origin.

      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 Joan Mazzola at 646-733-3023.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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