CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM AMS
Mr. Nowal J. Pierson, President
Sign Post Savers
PO Box 901
Vauxhall, AB
T0K-2K0
RE: Classification of Sign Post Saver
Dear Mr. Nowal:
This letter is in response to your request on behalf of your company, Sign Post Savers, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (herein “CBP”), National Commodity Specialist Division. Sign Post Savers requested a binding ruling on the tariff classification of your product, the sign post saver (herein “SPS”), under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (herein “HTSUS”).
FACTS:
The subject merchandise consists of the SPS. This product provides impact damage protection for road signs. The unit is designed to be installed on road sign posts and features an interior inclined plane. This assists a machined support pin and holds the sign post in place – attaching the sign post to the separate sign post base already anchored into the ground. If a road sign is knocked over, the support pin in the SPS is put into a brief vertical tension condition upon impact. Then, the pin gives way, allowing the post to separate from its base and fall without affecting the sign post’s foundation. A cable attached to both pieces of the now-severed product then keeps the disattached post “leashed” to the sign’s unaffected foundation/base. The SPS is manufactured for sale in eight current sizes, with two additional dimensions in development. All sizes are designed for the same purpose, manufactured with the same materials, and operate in the same manner. Sign Post Saver’s website shows that the merchandise is manufactured with galvanized steel.
Sign Post Savers has also inquired about “any other costs” associated with shipping the SPS from Canada to the United States.
ISSUE:
What should the tariff classification be for the SPS manufactured by Sign Post Savers under the HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods 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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
CBP has previously classified steel safety break-away couplings. See NY I83793 (July 19, 2002). The safety break-away couplings were to be used as optional components with loading/unloading arm assemblies in gas and oil loader applications. The safety break-away couplings did not contribute to the work of the loader, but served to minimize damage by forming pressure seals when connections in the loading arms or tank trucks broke. CBP classified the safety break-away coupling in subheading 7326.90.85, HTSUS (Articles of iron or steel, other, other, other, other, other).
The SPS and the aforementioned steel safety break-away couplings are similar products. Both are manufactured from steel. Both are mechanically complex, but not so complex as to be considered machinery under Section XVI, HTSUS. Both function automatically when receiving a certain stimulus (i.e. the bending of the sign post for the SPS; the breaking of a connection for the classified steel safety break-away couplings). Neither product is specifically provided for elsewhere in the HTSUS.
Accordingly, we find the sign post saver is classifiable in Heading 7326, HTSUS, specifically subheading 7326.90.8588, HTSUS as “Other articles of iron or steel; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other.”
With respect to your inquiry as to “any other costs” in addition to duty in shipping the SPS from Canada to the United States:
If the SPS is shipped to the United States by commercial vessel, it may be subject to a Harbor Maintenance Fee of 0.125% of the value of the import. See 19 CFR §24.24.
Sign Post Savers must also take care to comply with formal entry requirements for shipments exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000 USD) in value. See 19 CFR §145.12. The merchandise formally entered is subject to a merchandise processing fee of 0.21% of the value of the merchandise [which fee shall not exceed four hundred and eighty-five dollars ($485 USD), and shall not be less that twenty-five dollars ($25)], 19 CFR §124.23(B), unless the goods originate in Canada within the meaning of General Note 12, HTSUS (North American Free Trade Agreement – NAFTA).
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the SPS is classified in Heading 7326, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 7326.90.8588, HTSUSA as “Other articles of iron or steel; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other.” The 2011 general column one duty rate is 2.9 percent.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and 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.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Ieva K. O’Rourke, Chief
Tariff Classification and Marking Branch
CLA-2: OT:RR:CTF:TCM
HQ H134360
January 18, 2011