HQ H168717
CLA-2: OT:RR:CTF:TCM H168717 TSM
Kenneth G. Weigel
Alston & Baird, LLP
The Atlantic Building
950 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
RE: Modification of NY N113938 and NY N077520; Classification of cable locks from China
Dear Mr. Weigel:
This is in response to your request, dated August 12, 2010, filed on behalf of Master Lock Company, LLC (“Master Lock”) for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letters (“NY”) N113938, dated July 16, 2010, and NY N077520, dated October 6, 2009, pertaining to the classification of cable locks. In NY N113938, Model 8120D was classified in subheading 8301.10.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), as “Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal: Padlocks: Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction: Over 6.4 cm in width.” In NY N077520, Cable Lock 8119DPF was classified in subheading 8301.10.40, HTSUS, which provides for “Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal: Padlocks: Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction: Over 3.8 cm but not over 6.4 cm in width.” We have reviewed these rulings and believe them both to be partly in error. For the reasons that follow, we hereby modify NY N113938 and NY N077520.
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 49, No. 23, on June 10, 2015, proposing to modify NY N113938 and NY N077520, and revoke any treatment accorded to substantially identical transactions. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise consists of two types of cable locks. The first is Cable Lock 8119DPF, a combination lock with a five foot long cable made of vinyl-coated, braided steel wire. The body of the lock is made of base metal and has a curved, plastic outer housing that covers part of the cable. The lock, which functions without a key, operates by way of four rotating numerical dials. Cable Lock 8119DPF can be used to secure a variety of items, such as power equipment, ladders, trailers, tool boxes, bicycles, and sports equipment.
The second lock at issue is Model 8120D, and is similar in form to Cable Lock 8119DPF. It consists of a vinyl-coated braided steel cable that is six feet in length and 3/8 of an inch in diameter. Its combination locking mechanism is made of base metal and is capable of being reset. It functions without a key, and operates via four rotating numerical dials. The body of the lock has a curved, plastic outer housing that covers part of the cable. Model 8120D is imported with a plastic mounting bracket for easy transport and can be used to secure bicycles, skateboards and other sports equipment.
Samples of both cable locks were received and examined by this office.
ISSUE:
Whether the width of the subject cable locks was properly measured.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs.
The HTSUS subheadings at issue are as follows:
8301 Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal:
8301.10 Padlocks:
Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction:
8301.10.20 Not over 3.8 cm in width
8301.10.40 Over 3.8 cm but not over 6.4 cm in width
8301.10.50 Over 6.4 cm in width
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System at the international level. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 8301, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers fastening devices operated by a key (e.g., locks of the cylinder, lever, tumbler or Bramah types) or controlled by a combination of letters or figures (combination locks)…
The heading therefore covers, inter alia:
(A) Padlocks of all types for doors, trunks, chests, bags, cycles, etc., including key operated locking hasps.
There is no dispute that the merchandise should be classified in subheading 8301.10, HTSUS, as a padlock of base metal. Rather, the question, at the 8-digit level, is how to measure the width of the subject locks. In your request for reconsideration, you cite West Coast Cycle Supply Co. v. United States, 66 Cust. Ct. 500 (1971) (“West Coast Cycle Supply”). There, the court considered the classification of two different types of bicycle padlocks with cables; under the TSUS, as under the HTSUS, classification depended on the width of the locks, and the sole issue before the court was how to measure the width. Id. at 501.
The court, noting that the terms “length” and “width” were not defined in the tariff, consulted multiple dictionaries before defining the term “length” as: “[e]xtension from end to end; the greatest dimension of a body; longitudinal extent: opposed to breadth and thickness”; “[t]he longest, or longer, dimension of any object, in distinction from breadth or width; extent from end to end; the longest straight line that can be drawn through a body parallel to the general direction of its sides”; “the measure of an object from end to end, or along its longest dimension.” Id. at 503. Based on these same dictionaries, the court defined the term “width” as “[s]pace between sides, or extent from side to side, breadth; as, the width of the river is two miles”; “[t]he dimension of an object measured across from side to side or in a direction at right angles to the length;” “the extent of a thing from side to side; breadth; opposite of length.” Id. at 503. Applying these definitions to the locks in front of it, the court found the width by measuring the dimension that was perpendicular to the length; in doing so, the court noted that “measurement of the ‘width’ of articles may vary somewhat dependant upon their particular shape or configuration.” Id. at 504.
In accordance with West Coast Cycle Supply, CBP has long classified the width of a padlock as the dimension perpendicular to the length, and has measured the width at the greatest point when the merchandise is in locked position. See, e.g., NY B85123, dated May 8, 1997; HQ H141716, dated January 11, 2011; HQ H166855, dated June 30, 2011. CBP also has a practice of including the cable of a padlock in the measurement of the padlock’s length. See, e.g., HQ H166855; NY K84951, dated April 28, 2004; ORR Ruling 75-0185, dated May 10, 1975.
This analysis was reiterated in NY N113938, which classified model 8120D, a cable padlock. There, Master Lock advocated for classification in subheading 8301.10.20, HTSUS, as a padlock whose width did not exceed 3.8 cm. CBP disagreed, reasoning that the body, or “shoulders,” of the shackle, were more than mere protective bumpers and therefore had to be included in measuring the width of the lock. As a result, CBP classified model 8120D in subheading 8301.10.50, HTSUS, as a padlock whose width was over 6.4 cm. You argue that, in order to have arrived at this classification, CBP must have measured the body of the lock along the same dimension in which the cable runs- i.e., that CBP actually measured the lock along the dimension that constitutes its length, not its width. As a result, you argue for the width of the lock to be measured as per dimension “C” in the following diagram:
After reexamining the sample of model 8120D, we agree. The curved, plastic outer housing that forms the body of the lock encircles and extends beyond the cable of model 8120D, thereby becoming a part of the lock’s longest dimension. Following the definitions of West Coast Cycle Supply and subsequent CBP rulings, model 8120D’s outer housing and the rotating numerical dials extend the length of the lock; its width should therefore be measured perpendicular to the length, as shown by dimension “C” in the above diagram. Thus, while we continue to agree with NY N113938’s statement that the “shoulders” are not merely protective bumpers, and we continue to agree with NY N113938’s assessment on how to measure the width of a cable lock, we find that the measurement undertaken in this case does not adhere to that statement. Measuring the width along dimension “C” in the above diagram, we now find the width to be 3.2 cm. As a result, model 8120D is classified in subheading 8301.10.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal: Padlocks: Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction: Not over 3.8 cm in width.”
In NY N077520, CBP determined that the width of Cable Lock 8119DPF was 4.7 cm, and classified it in subheading 8301.10.40, HTSUS, as a padlock whose width was over 3.8 cm but not over 6.4 cm. Here as well, you also argue that in order to have obtained a width of 4.7 cm, CBP would have had to measure the body of the lock along the same dimension as the cable, thereby actually measuring the length of the lock. In reexamining the sample at our office, we agree for the same reasons stated above. Thus, after having remeasured the width of Cable Lock 8119DPF, again along dimension “C” in the diagram above, we now find the width to be 2.9 cm. As such, Cable Lock 8119DPF is classified in subheading 8301.10.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal: Padlocks: Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction: Not over 3.8 cm in width.”
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, model 8120D and Cable Lock 8119DPF are provided for in heading 8301, HTSUS. Specifically, they are classified in subheading 8301.10.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Padlocks and locks (key, combination or electrically operated), of base metal; clasps and frames with clasps, incorporating locks, of base metal; keys and parts of any of the foregoing articles, of base metal: Padlocks: Not of cylinder or pin tumbler construction: Not over 3.8 cm in width.” The column one, general rate of duty is 2.3% 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 Internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N113938, dated July 16, 2010, is MODIFIED with respect to the classification of Model 8120D. The analysis of how the lock is measured remains unchanged. NY N077520, dated October 6, 2009, is MODIFIED with respect to the classification Cable Lock 8119DPF. The classification of the other items described therein remains unchanged.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the Customs Bulletin.
DATED:
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
Attachment