Shaft of Golf Club Assembled in Mexico Subject to Section 301 China Tariffs, CBP Says

Golf clubs assembled in Mexico from titanium heads manufactured in Taiwan and carbon fiber shafts from China must be marked products of both, and the value of the shaft is subject to Section 301 tariffs, CBP said in a Dec. 2 ruling. The golf clubs do not undergo a substantial transformation in Mexico nor the required USMCA tariff shift, and both the shaft and head give the golf clubs their essential character, CBP said in ruling HQ H312495, posted to the agency’s ruling database on Dec. 10.

Cobra Golf, the importer of the golf clubs, requested the ruling on several models of its golf clubs with parts of varying origin. The golf clubs are classifiable in subheading 9506.31.00, CBP said.

“To provide a more seamless transition to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) for Canadian and Mexican traders, at this time, CBP continues to utilize the marking rules in 19 C.F.R. Part 102, with the exception of 19 C.F.R. § 102.19, for purposes of country of origin marking with respect to goods of those countries,” CBP said in the ruling.

The applicable tariff shift rule in Section 102 requires a change to subheading 9506.31 from any other subheading, except for subheading 9506.39. The heads, shafts and grips are all classifiable in subheading 9506.39, so no tariff shift applies, CBP said.

Turning instead to an essential character analysis, CBP said that it has previously ruled that both the head and the shaft impart the essential character of the finished golf club driver “because they are both important in the performance of the golf club,” it said. “The shaft plays a key role in the performance of the golf swing while the head directly connects with the ball.” As such, the golf clubs made from Chinese shafts and Taiwanese heads must be marked as both countries: “head made in Taiwan, shaft made in China,” CBP said.

For Section 301 purposes, a substantial transformation analysis applies. “Assembly operations that are minimal or simple, as opposed to complex or meaningful, will generally not result in a substantial transformation,” CBP said. The heads and shafts in the golf clubs “are not manufactured in Mexico and the ‘relatively simple’ assembly operations in Mexico will not result in a substantial transformation of the driver heads and shafts in Mexico,” CBP said.

As a result, the country of origin for the purposes of Section 301 tariffs is Taiwan for the heads, and China for the shafts. “As the driver shafts will be a product of China, Section 301 measures will apply. To the extent that the graphite shaft is a product of China, the value of it may be apportioned from the total of the golf club for purposes of the duty assessment,” CBP said.