CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H300197 SKK
Mr. J. Lenhardt
Vice President of Operations
Roechling Medical Rochester L.P.
999 Ridgeway Ave.
Rochester, N.Y. 14615-3819
RE: Request to reconsider NY N296540; Classification of stainless steel tubes from Costa Rica
Dear Mr. Lenhardt:
This is in response to your letter, dated June 27, 2018, requesting reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N296540, dated May 25, 2018, which was issued to DHL Group, Inc. on behalf of Roechling Medical Rochester L.P. (formerly Roechling Advent Tool and Mold). In NY N296540, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified stainless steel tubes under heading 7306, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), specifically subheading 7306.40.10, HTSUS, which provides for “[O]ther tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seamed or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel: other, welded, of circular cross section, of stainless steel, having a wall thickness of less than 1.65 mm, containing more than 0.5 percent by weight of nickel.”
No sample was submitted with your reconsideration request.
We have reviewed NY N296540 and determined that it is correct. For the reasons set forth below, we are affirming that ruling.
The articles at issue in NY N296540 are described as type 304 stainless steel tubes of various lengths with wall thicknesses of 0.25 mm and 0.51 mm. The cut-to-length, cold-drawn welded tubes have a cut/flared end and a molded end with holes punched around the circumference. After importation the tubes undergo an additional manufacturing process known as “overmolding,” which is an injection molding process that results in the tubes being encased in clear plastic to render them suitable for use as parts of optical trocars for use in surgical procedures.
In your submission to this office, the stainless tubes are depicted below in their condition as imported:
The subject tubes are depicted below in their condition after undergoing additional
post-importation processing in the United States, prior to exportation to the Dominican Republic:
The finished optical trocar:
In your request for reconsideration, you propose classification in heading 9018,
HTSUS, specifically subheading 9018.90.80, HTSUS, which provides for parts of other surgical instruments.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this reconsideration are as follows:
7306: Other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seamed or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel:
9018 Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and accessories thereof:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If
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 GRI may then be applied.
GRI 2 states, in pertinent part: (a) Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding
System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The EN to GRI 2 provides, in pertinent part:
(II) The provisions of this Rule also apply to blanks unless these are specified in a particular heading. The term " blank " means an article, not ready for direct use, having the approximate shape or outline of the finished article or part, and which can only be used, other than in exceptional cases, for completion into the finished article or part (e.g., bottle preforms of plastics being intermediate products having tubular shape, with one closed end and one open end threaded to secure a screw type closure, the portion below the threaded end being intended to be expanded to a desired size and shape).
Semi-manufactures not yet having the essential shape of the finished articles (such as is generally the case with bars, discs, tubes, etc.) are not regarded as "blanks ".
In your submission, you state that based on the specific precision flaring, size dimensions and exact tolerance cutting, the sole application of the subject tubes is as a component part for assembly into a Trocar medical device. You further state that the plastic overmolding processing done by Roechling in the United States is “engineered specifically to accommodate the design and tolerances of the imported obturator tubes, which is then sold as a component for further assembly into the Trocar.” In support of your argument, you cite to the following rulings in which CBP determined that an article meets the definition of a "part" under heading 9018, HTSUS, because of its specialized design and function:
NY N096880 (dated March 25, 2010), in which CBP examined the classification of the “Gynecare Versapoint Bipolar Electrosurgery System” and determined that its components, if imported separately, were classified as parts of heading 9018, HTSUS. Specifically, you note that one of the component parts was an “obturator tube.”
N202975 (dated February 27, 2012), in which CBP determined that certain components of a drug delivery system were classified as "parts" under heading 9018, HTSUS. These parts included certain "extension tubing," as well as a cap for the injector. CBP noted that "[f]rom the specialized connections and/or molding of the items in question, we believe they are identifiable as parts of the PhaSeal system ... "
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 952091 (dated December 7, 1992), in which CBP classified certain plastic scalpel handles as "parts" under heading 9018, HTSUS, where the handles were molded to fit the metal blades.
NY R03091 (dated February 1, 2006), in which CBP classified certain stainless steel finger grips/shafts for laproscopic instruments as "parts" under heading 9018, HTSUS, given the articles’ "elaborate shape" and made to order specifications.
You further submit that the subject tubes are distinguishable from other rulings in which CBP has classified welded stainless steel tubing in heading 7306, HTSUS, despite their use in downstream articles classified in heading 9018. For example, NY N064555, dated July 2, 2009, involved certain stainless steel tubes imported for further manufacture into syringes. You claim that unlike the subject obturator tubes, the tubes at issue in NY N064555 in their imported condition were simply short lengths of very small diameter tube and did not have any specialized cuts, flaring, or holes. Similarly, in NY 888798, dated August 19, 1993, CBP determined that welded stainless steel tubes, imported in pre-cut lengths with a wall thickness ranging from 0.0030 inch to 0.014 inches, that underwent further processing after importation prior to their ultimate use as disposable syringe needles, were classified under heading 7306, HTSUS. You state that the subject tubes at issue in N96540 are distinguishable from the articles at issue in NY NY N888798 in that, in their condition as imported, they are specially designed with cuts and flares that are specific to the dimensions needed for further processing in order to become a component in a finished optical trocar.
The subject tubes are unfinished in their condition as imported and undergo additional manufacturing after importation in order to render them suitable for use in obturator tubes that will subsequently be assembled into medical optical trocars. Pursuant to GRI 2(a), the tubes must possess the essential character of finished obturator tubes in order to be classified in heading 9018, HTSUS. The EN to GRI 2(a) specifies that the term “blank” means an article, not ready for direct use, that has the approximate shape or outline of the finished article or part, and which can only be used, other than in exceptional cases, for completion into the finished article or part. CBP has held that articles qualifying as “blanks” must possess the approximate shape and the essential character of the complete or finished good. See HQ H136455, dated March 10, 2011; HQ H006327, dated August 28, 2007; HQ 967908, dated January 24, 2006.
In applying these standards to the instant merchandise, we find that the subject welded
stainless steel tubes do not possess the essential character of finished parts of optical trocars of heading 9018, HTSUS. In their condition as imported, the subject tubes do not have the approximate shape of finished obturator tubes that are subsequently assembled into medical optical trocars. Specifically, we note that although the subject tubes are manufactured to specific dimensions and have been specially designed with cuts and flares, they must still undergo additional manufacturing after importation in order to render them suitable for use as a part of a finished trocar device. The additional processing serves to change the shape of the ends of the tubes significantly. The flared end is no longer visible and the distal end with the holes is encapsulated in a clear plastic conical point. Accordingly, the subject tubes do not qualify as “blanks” for tariff purposes under GRI 2(a) and cannot be classified as parts of heading 9018, HTSUS.
We also do not find the articles the subject of the rulings you cite as precedential to be substantially similar to the tubes at issue. In NY N096880, the goods at issue were finished obturators and not just unfinished tubes. In N202975, the extension tubing at issue incorporated specialized connectors and moldings and was in its finished state at the time of importation. Similarly, in HQ 952091 and NY R03091, in which CBP classified, respectively, specially molded plastic scalpel handles and specially shaped stainless steel finger grips/shafts for laproscopic instruments as "parts" under heading 9018, HTSUS, the subject articles were imported in their finished shape.
We hereby affirm NY N296540. The subject stainless steel tubes remain classified
in heading 7306, HTSUS, specifically subheading 7306.40.10, HTSUS, which provides for “[O]ther tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seamed or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel: other, welded, of circular cross section, of stainless steel, having a wall thickness of less than 1.65 mm, containing more than 0.5 percent by weight of
nickel.”
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
CC: Megan Finkelstein
Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, P.C.
625 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3152