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NY N013333




June 28, 2007

CLA-2-96:RR:E:NC:SP:233

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9603.40.4060

Bruce T. Hunking
Nour Handcrafted Painting Tools
637 Colby Drive
Waterloo, ON N2V 1B4

RE: The tariff classification of a paint brush from Vietnam.

Dear Mr. Hunking:

In your letter dated June 22, 2007 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The merchandise identified as model numbers 1331-63AIP and 1331-75AIP, is a nylon/polyester bristle paint brush. The brushes are mounted on wooden handles held in place with a metal ferrule. The different model numbers refer to the same style of brush in different brush widths.

The applicable subheading for the paint brush will be 9603.40.4060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Brooms, brushessqueegees: Paint, distemper, varnish or similar brushes (other than brushes of subheading 9603.30); paint pads and rollers: Other: Other”. The rate of duty will be 4% ad valorem.

In your letter you have asked for a determination regarding the country of origin of the paint brush for marking and duty purposes. You state that various parts of the paintbrush are sourced from Vietnam, Thailand, China, England and the United States.

The following rules shall apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of imported goods other than textile and apparel products covered by §102.21.

(a) The country of origin of a good is the country in which:

(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;

(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or

(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in §102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.

(b) Except for a good that is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set, or is classified as a set pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) of this section:

(1) The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the single material that imparts the essential character to the good, or

(2) If the material that imparts the essential character to the good is fungible, has been commingled, and direct physical identification of the origin of the commingled material is not practical, the country or countries of origin may be determined on the basis of an inventory management method provided under the appendix to part 181 of this chapter.

(c) Where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section and the good is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set or mixture, or classified as a set, mixture or composite good pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, the country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of all materials that merit equal consideration for determining the essential character of the good.

(d) Where the country of origin of a good cannot be determined under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, the country of origin of the good shall be determined as follows:

(1) If the good was produced only as a result of minor processing, the country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of each material that merits equal consideration for determining the essential character of the good;

(2) If the good was produced by simple assembly and the assembled parts that merit equal consideration for determining the essential character of the good are from the same country, the country of origin of the good is the country of origin of those parts; or

(3) If the country of origin of the good cannot be determined under paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the last country in which the good underwent production.

The relevant section of the regulation concerns the essential character of the paintbrush which is determined to be the filaments used to produce the bristles for the completed article. You state that the filaments are imported in their raw form from the United States and Thailand. The raw filament is not processed into the finished article until the assembly operation takes place in Vietnam. As the unfinished filaments are processed in Vietnam prior to assembly there, the change in tariff classification meets the requirements of §102.21 (3) (a). The country of origin is determined to be Vietnam.

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 Larry Mushinske at 646-733-3036.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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