Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
N324754: The country of origin of wheel hub units
| Country of Origin: China |
| Item: Double Flanged Wheel Hub Unit, which are used in passenger vehicles, as well as light and heavy trucks. The wheel hub units are located between the brake drums or discs and the drive axle. They consist of many component parts, each of which must be precisely machine-finished, refined, and fitted at the final production stage to meet certain engineering specifications and grades. Wheel hubs keep the vehicle wheels securely attached to the vehicle axles, while bearing the full load of the vehicle as the wheels and tires rotate. Wheel hubs house tracking sensors for anti-lock braking systems, while also bearing the weight of high lateral forces allowing a motor vehicle to steer safely. |
| Reason: Although the separate components from China require further manufacturing in order to be assembled into the complete wheel hub units, they have the basic characteristics of the wheel hub units and the processing operation performed in Thailand is only a finishing operation that completes the products but does not fundamentally change them. |
| Ruling Date: March 30, 2022 |
N321128: The tariff classification of a coated jacquard woven polyester fabric from China
| HTS: 5903.90.2500, 9903.88.03, 7.5%, 25%, “Textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, other than those of heading 5902: Other: Of man-made fibers: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A lightly coated fabric woven of yarns of different colors, which will be used for upholstery. CBP laboratory findings indicate the sample is composed of 63.6 percent polyester filament yarns by weight and 36.4 percent polyester staple yarns by weight. The sample is coated or covered with a plastic material on the back surface. |
| Reason: The plastic coating is visible to the naked eye and would therefore be classified in Chapter 59. |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N321987: The tariff classification of tights from China
| HTS: 6115.22.0000, 14.9%, "Panty hose, tights, stockings, socks and other hosiery, including graduated compression hosiery…and footwear without applied soles, knitted or crocheted: Other panty hose and tights: Of synthetic fibers, measuring per single yarn 67 decitex or more." |
| Item: A 2-pack of women’s knit control top tights with a panty portion composed of 93% nylon, 7% spandex and the leg portion composed of 92% nylon, 8% spandex. The tights are a form fitting, pull-on style hosiery garment featuring an approximately 1.5” wide elasticized waistband, center front and back seams down the torso portion of the garment, a lined gusset crotch panel, seamless leg tubes and hemmed leg openings. The denier of the tights is 80 denier, therefore, the tights measure 89 decitex. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324601: The country of origin of an inflator for the purpose of 301 Trade Remedies
| Country of Origin: China |
| Item: A high-pressure inflator. The inflator is a standing model and is designed to inflate air into various objects, including objects with a capacity to hold 160 pounds per square inch. The inflator can be powered by a 20-volt battery, a 12-volt adapter or a 120-volt alternating current. The inflator features a power button, an LED light button, a start/pause rotary knob, an LCD screen, and an outer top and bottom housing with a handle. The inflator is imported packaged with a wave hose, a high-pressure tapered nozzle, a Presta valve adapter and an inflator needle, ready for retail sale. |
| Reason: The assembly processes in Vietnam are not complex and do not result in a substantial transformation of the components. |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324610: The tariff classification of Spironolactone (CAS No. 52-01-7) in bulk powder form, from Brazil
| HTS: 2937.29.9095, free, “Steroidal hormones, their derivatives and structural analogues: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: An aldosterone-receptor antagonist with diuretic, antihypertensive and antiandrogen activities. It is indicated for the management of primary hyperaldosteronism, congestive heart failure, essential hypertension, hypokalemia, heart failure and edema. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324652: The tariff classification of an egg wrap kit from China
| HTS: 3926.90.9985; 9903.88.15, 5.3% + 7.5%, “Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914: [o]ther: [o]ther: [o]ther.” |
| Item: The “Dippin’ Designs Enchanted Egg Wrap Kit." The kit will include polyvinyl alcohol plastic film wraps, two dipping tools, two smoothing tools with rounded edges, and twelve plastic stands. There will be two versions, one containing six PVA wraps, each with their own design, and the other will have 14 wraps with 12 distinct designs. The kit is intended to be used to decorate eggs. The film is cut in an eight-point star pattern and is not self-adhesive, nor does it have a paper backing. The PVA film is set in a bowl of water until it starts to swell. Using the dipping tool, an egg can be picked up and dipped into the water, allowing the wet PVA film to cover the egg. The smoothing tool is then used to flatten any wrinkles, and the finished egg dries on the stand, wrapped by the decorative PVA film. |
| Reason: The egg wraps are covered with all-over repetitive design patterns. Explanatory Notes to Chapter 49 state, “For the purposes of this Chapter, the term “printed” … does not, however, include coloration or decorative or repetitive-design printing.” |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324690: The tariff classification of Hard Seltzer Base from Germany
| HTS: 2208.90.8000, 21.1¢/liter, "Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages: Other: Other: Other." |
| Item: Hard Seltzer Base. It is said to contain 65 percent Water, 32 percent Glucose Syrup, 2.6 percent Pineapple Juice and 0.4 pecent Lactic Acid. Glucose syrup is added to water, pasteurized, fermented with yeast and pineapple juice, fined, filtrated and stored. The finished product is said to have an alcohol by volume content of 14.5 percent. No flavoring or ethyl achohol are added to the Hard Seltzer Base. Upon importation, the Hard Seltzer Base is further processed by adding sparkling water, flavoring, and/or sugar. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324716: The tariff classification of “Waipy Wet Wipes” from Mexico
| HTS: 3401.19.0000, free, "Soap; organic surface-active products and preparations for use as soap, in the form of bars, cakes, molded pieces or shapes, whether or not containing soap; organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in the form of liquid or cream and put up for retail sale, whether or not containing soap; paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent: Soap and organic surface-active products and preparations, in the form of bars, cakes, molded pieces or shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent: Other." |
| Item: Wet wipes, intended for shining, cleaning, and revitalizing leather and vinyl shoes. The wipes are disposable and made of non-woven fabric: 70% polyester and 30% rayon. The wipes are impregnated with a solution, which is composed of water, silicone emulsion, detergent, preservative, and fragrance. The provided label indicates that the wipes will be imported in retail-ready packages, each containing 45 wipes. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324799: The country of origin of a computer mouse
| Country of Origin: Taiwan |
| Item: A wireless input device for use with automatic data processing machines. It is packaged together with a USB extender, USB dongle, and a USB cable in a retail box. You state that the Mouse is assembled in China from a printed circuit board assembly, plastic shell housings, a magnet, a scrolling wheel, and a battery. |
| Reason: The assembly of the PCBA in Taiwan by soldering the individual components onto the bare board results in a substantial transformation |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |
N324895: The tariff classification of ultrasonic cleaning appliances from China
| HTS: 8479.89.9585; 9903.88.03, 2.5% + 25%, "Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Other: Ultrasonic cleaning devices." |
| Items: TriClean ultrasonic cleaning appliances. The load cleaning tank is filled with water, dental tools and instruments are placed in instrument cassettes and baskets, the appliance is then switched on and the resistor in the heating element converts the electric energy flowing from the office outlet into thermal energy, which increases the temperature of the cleaning solution in the tank. Each tank is equipped with a sensor to detect when the temperature is reached, and to switch off the heating element once the desired temperature is reached. Alternating high- and low-pressure waves in the solution which creates the formation and subsequent implosion of millions of microscopic bubbles. The release of energy in this process provides the level of cleaning needed to remove infectious bioburden from the media. |
| Reason: The appliances are used to clean dental tools and instruments prior to the sterilization process at a dental office or laboratory. They are not instruments or appliances used by dentists to “make a diagnosis, to prevent or treat an illness, or to operate" under heading 9018. |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2022 |