CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H058796 ARM
Mr. Scott Frisby
Nikon Precision Inc.
1399 Shoreway Road
Belmont, CA 94002-4107
RE: Revocation of NY B89965; FC-77 Fluorinert (CAS 86508-42-1) from Japan.
Dear Mr. Frisby:
This is to inform you that Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has reconsidered New York (NY) Ruling letter B89965, dated January 7, 1998, regarding the classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of FC-77 Fluorinert (CAS 86508-42-1) from Japan. The substance was classified as a mixture of halogenated hydrocarbons in subheading 3824.90.47, (now 3824.90.55), HTSUS. We have determined that NY B89965 is in error. Therefore, this ruling revokes NY B89965.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625 (c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), ), a notice was published in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN, Volume 43, No. 28, on July 17, 2009, proposing to revoke New York Ruling Letter (NY) B89965, dated January 7, 1998, and any treatment accorded to substantially identical transactions. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
According to CBP Laboratory Report #NY20071768A, dated May 8, 2008, FC-77, CAS Registry No. 86508-42-1, is a mixture of Perfluoro furans, a perfluoro pyran (oxygen heterocyclic compounds) with a perfluoro acyclic hydrocarbon. In NY B89965, we stated that “the merchandise at issue is used as a cooling agent inside machines used by the semiconductor industry to fabricate computer chips.” The Material Safety Data Sheet for the product notes its specific use as a testing fluid or heat transfer fluid for electronics.
ISSUE:
Whether FC-77 is a mixture of hydrogenated hydrocarbons of subheading 3824.90.55, HTSUS, or an other chemical preparation of 3824.90.92, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, HTSUS, and if the headings or notes do not require otherwise, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied.
The HTSUS subheadings under consideration are as follows:
3824 Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included :
3824.90 Other:
Other:
Other:
Mixtures of halogenated hydrocarbons:
3824.90.55 Other . . . . . . . . . . . .
* * * * *
Other:
3824.90.92 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There is no dispute that the instant merchandise is classified as an other chemical product in subheading 3824.90, HTSUS. At issue is the proper 8-digit tariff rate. Therefore, GRI 6 is implicated. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods at the subheading level “shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the above rules [GRIs 1-5], on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.”
The instant merchandise contains a mixture of perfluoro furans, a perfluoro pyran (oxygen heterocyclic compounds) with a perfluoro acyclic hydrocarbon. While the perfluoro acyclic hydrocarbon is a halogenated hydrocarbon, the other compounds in the mixture are not halogenated hydrocarbons. As such, the entire mixture is not composed of only halogenated hydrocarbons and cannot be classified in subheading 3824.90.55, HTSUS. It is classified in subheading 3824.90.92, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
Pursuant to GRI 1, through the application of GRI 6, FC-77 Fluorinert is classified in heading 3824. It is provided for in subheading 3824.90.92, which provides for: “Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other. The 2009, column one general rate of duty is 5% 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 the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY B89965, dated January 7, 1998, is revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division