CBP Bulletin Proposal Says Hydration, Pitting of Prunes Isn't Manufacture for Drawback Purposes

The CBP April 10 Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 16) proposes to revoke its treatment of whether hydrating and pitting prunes counts as a manufacture for drawback purposes. CBP previously considered that process to be a manufacture, but recently said otherwise in a response to an internal advice request from Sunsweet Growers. Sunsweet Growers imports prunes, which, upon importation, are steamed or cooked to be hydrated and then pitted and placed under a laser scanner that detects pit fragments, it said. The prunes maintain the same nutritional content following the hydration and pitting, the company said.

To qualify for unused merchandise drawback under 19 USC Section 1313(j)(2), the exported merchandise can't be "used" in the U.S. That means the goods can't undergo manufacture or production while in the U.S. "Sunsweet Grower’s procedure does not transform the prunes into a different product" as they are "imported as prunes and exported as prunes" and "are still named prunes after the hydration and pitting," said CBP. The character of the prunes also doesn't change as a result of the hydration/pitting, said CBP. "Both the imported natural prunes and the hydrated pitted prunes are for human consumption and share the same nutritional content" and therefore the "hydrated pitted prunes have not been made fit for a particular use," the agency said. Comments on the proposed revocation should be submitted by May 10, said CBP.