CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084763 TLS

TARIFF NOS.: 5910.00.9000; 3926.90.6000; 3917.39.0050;
3917.32.0050; 3917.31.0000

Mr. Gene Hobson
Belting Industries Co., Inc.
20 Boright Avenue
Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033

RE: Industrial belts and belting

Dear Mr. Hobson:

You request a ruling on the proper classification of industrial belts and belting under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your letter dated May 12, 1989 has been referred to our office for this purpose.

FACTS:

The belts and belting you present are divided into two sections: Breco synchronous belts and Schlatterer flat endless belts and belting. The belting is imported in the form of sleeves, which are very similar to tubes. The belting can be separated into two groups, according to their particular compositions.

Group 1 consists of one or two layers of woven polyester fabrics with a fabric on one surface and a visible plastics layer on the other surface. Where there are two layers of fabric, there is a distinct visible layer of plastics between them. The belting in this group include PU, PU 10, PU 11, PU 20/1, PU-VA 11/12343, PU-VA 11/12343-1, PU VA 1976, PU (flat), PU (flat poly), PU 4/6, PU 10 (flat), PU 11 (flat), PU 12, PU 17, PU 18, PU 20, MINI, NE 10, NE 20, NE 20/133, NE 21, NE 133/1, Si 1, Si 1-S, Si, Si 3, HN 1, HG 1, HK 17, and HK 18.

Group 2 consists of one or two woven polyester fabrics that are completely embedded or entirely coated or covered with plastics. Included in this group are PU + Si, NE 21 (flat), NE 22, NE 22 (flat), NE 26, NE 17, NE 18, and Si 1-B.

There is one sample of belting that does not belong in either group 1 or group 2. PU 0/6 consists of only polyurethane

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and does not have any fabric woven into it. Although they are imported in a variety of lengths and widths, none of the belting has a thickness of 3 mm or more.

The belts, both Breco and Schlatterer, are either conveyor or transmission, and all are made of some textile material. All are reinforced with a cotton/man-made fiber blend or strictly a man-made fiber. One exception is the Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt, which has no fiber support in it and is made of only polyurethane.

ISSUE:

How are the various belts and belting properly classified under the HTSUSA.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI) govern the classification of articles under the HTS. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Heading 5910 covers transmission or conveyor belts or belting, of textile material, whether or not reinforced with metal or other material. Chapter note 6 (a) of chapter 59 states that heading 5910 does not apply to transmission or conveyor belting, of textile material, of a thickness of less than 3 mm. All of the belts, with the exception of the Schlatterer PU 0/6, fit the description provided for in heading 5910. They are classifiable under this heading. However, none of the belting is classifiable under 5910 because all of the belting have a thickness of less than 3 mm.

Heading 3926 covers other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914. The Explanatory Notes (EN) of the HTSUSA are the official interpretation of the HTS at the international level. The EN for heading 3926 states that this heading includes transmission, conveyor or elevator belts, endless, or cut to length and joined end to end, or fitted with fasteners. The Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt meets the description of this heading and the EN. It is classifiable under this heading.

Heading 3917 provides for tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings thereof, of plastics. All of the belting are imported in the form of sleeves, which are very similar in construction to tubes. All are made of a plastic of some sort and all except one are reinforced or combined with textile materials. All of the belting are classifiable under heading 3917.

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HOLDING:

All of the belts, with the exception of the Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt, are classified under subheading 5910.00.9000, HTSUSA, as other conveyor and transmission belts of man-made materials.

The Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt is classified under subheading 3926.90.6000, HTSUSA, as another belt for machinery not containing textile fibers.

All of the belting, with the exception of the PU 0/6 belting, is classified under subheading 3917.39.0050, HTSUSA, as tubes other than those which are rigid and not reinforced with other materials.

The PU 0/6 belting is classified under subheading 3917.32.0050, HTSUSA, as a tube not reinforced or otherwise combined with other materials, other than those which are rigid, and other than those of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene.

Alternatively, any of the belting found to have a minimum burst pressure of 27.6 MPa is classified under subheading 3917.31.0000, HTSUSA, as flexible tubes having such a minimum burst pressure.

This ruling letter pertains only to the classification of the subject articles under the HTSUSA. The Customs Service does not have authority to rule on the applicability of antidumping or countervailing (AD/CVD) duties to these articles. The Department of Commerce has jurisdiction over such matters and therefore is the appropriate forum to address the AD/CVD issue.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division