OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H327731 SKK/JRG
Center Director
Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
610 S. Canal St. 3rd Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Attn: Jason Hayslett, Import Specialist; Jospeh Fischer, Supervisory Import Specialist
Re: Protest No. 4601-22-131915; Classification of lamination press plates
Dear Center Director:
This is our decision regarding an Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No.
4601-22-131915, filed on behalf of Cardel Ltd. (“Cardel” or “Protestant”). The Protest and AFR
concern the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”)
of lamination press plates and their country of origin. The AFR was forwarded to this office for
consideration. No samples were provided for examination.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is described as a lamination press plate used in the manufacture
of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) smart cards, credit cards, and similar items. In their condition as
imported, the finished plates are ready for installation in a lamination machine (“Platen
Lamination Equipment”) that produces the plastic cards. The subject lamination press plates are
made of stainless steel with a size tolerance of +/- 0.5 millimeters (“mm”) and a thickness of 0.5
mm, 0.8 mm, or 1.0 mm. The lamination press plates have been cut to the shape and size
specified by the customer (615 mm x 459 mm x 0.8 mm as indicated by the submitted purchase
order and invoice), edge finished, and precision surface treated to ensure the desired finish (i.e.,
gloss, silk, matt). The lamination press plates are made for specific machines and are not
interchangeable among different machines. In use, eleven lamination press plates are loaded into
a “cassette” with 10 sets of PVC sheets inserted between the plates. The loaded cassettes are
placed in the lamination press that heats the cassette under pressure for approximately 20
minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. The cassette remains under pressure for an additional 20
minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. After the compression, the cassettes are removed, the plates
separated, and the plastic sheets removed. Each plate can be used between 4,000 and 6,000
cycles before being replaced.
The lamination press plates are manufactured from cold rolled stainless steel sheets of
Taiwanese origin. Upon importation to the United Kingdom (U.K.), the steel sheets are
inspected before being coated with a protective material. The sheets are either laser cut to
produce hard plates, or shear cut to create standard plates. Both the hard and standard plates are
subsequently deburred and cornered. If gloss plates are being manufactured, the plates undergo
polishing. If silk/matte plates are being produced, the plates enter peening machines. After
polishing or peening, the plates are inspected then packaged for shipment.
The subject articles were liquidated on March 4, 2022, under heading 7219, specifically
subheading 7219.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for “[F]lat-rolled products of stainless steel, of
a width of 600 mm or more: Other” and were subject to duties imposed by heading 9903,
HTSUS, specifically subheading 9903.80.01, HTSUS, which provides for “[p]roducts of iron or
steel provided for in the tariff headings or subheadings enumerated in note 16 to this subchapter,
except products of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, of Turkey or any
exclusions that may be determined and announced by the Department of Commerce” and which
applies an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty to the column one general rate of duty in
the applicable subheading. The country of origin of the subject merchandise was determined to
be Taiwan.
ISSUES:
What is the proper classification of the subject merchandise under the HTSUS? What is
the country of origin of the steel plates for purposes of application of the 2021 Section 232 duties
for goods under subheading 9903.80.01, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable
matter under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2). The subject Protest was timely filed on August 31, 2022,
within 180 days of liquidation, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3).
Further Review of Protest No. 4601-22-131915 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR
§ 174.24(a), as the Protestant has alleged that the decision against which the Protest was filed is
inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or
his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar
merchandise.
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Classification
Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation
(GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will be 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 GRIs 2 through 6 will then be applied in order.
The following 2021 provisions of the HTSUS are under consideration:
7219 Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more:
8477 Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from
these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:
Note 1(f) to Section XV provides that this section does not cover “[A]rticles of section
XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods).”
Note 2(b) to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides:
2. Subject to note 1 to this section, note 1 to chapter 84 and to note 1 to chapter 85, parts
of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544, 8545, 8546 or 8547)
are to be classified according to the following rules:
* * *
(b) Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine,
or with a number of machines of the same heading (including a machine of heading 8479
or 8543) are to be classified with the machines of that kind or in heading 8409, 8431, 8448,
8466, 8473, 8503, 8522, 8529 or 8538 as appropriate. However, parts which are equally
suitable for use principally with the goods of headings 8517 and 8525 to 8528 are to be
classified in heading 8517.
Protestant submits that the subject articles are properly classified under heading 8477,
specifically subheading 8477.90.25, HTSUS, which provides for “[M]achinery for working
rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or
included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Parts: Machinery for working rubber or plastics
or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in
this chapter; parts thereof: Parts.” In this regard, Protestant asserts that the plates are sized,
shaped, and manufactured for use in particular “Platen Lamination Equipment,” and are therefore
“parts” of machines of heading 8477, HTSUS, as they are not interchangeable for use in other
machines.
The term “part” is not defined in the HTSUS. However, the courts have developed two
distinct but not inconsistent tests for determining whether a particular item qualifies as a “part”
for tariff classification purposes. Under the test initially promulgated in United States v.
Willoughby Camera Stores, Inc., 21 C.C.P.A. 322, 324 (1933), an imported item qualifies as a
part only if it can be described as an “integral, constituent, or component part, without which the
article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article.” Bauerhin Techs. Ltd. Pshp.
v. United States, 110 F.3d 774, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1997). In United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9,
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14 (1955), the court determined that a good is a “part” for tariff purposes if it is “dedicated solely
for use” with a particular article and is not a separate and distinct commercial entity. The
Bauerhin court held that the Willoughby and Pompeo tests must be read together. See Bauerhin
at 779.
In examining the merchandise, we find that the subject plates lack characteristics that
indicate they are solely or principally dedicated for use in lamination press machines. Unlike
typical “platens,” the subject plates have no notches, holes, slots, or other such features that
would allow them to uniquely fit into, or be attached to, particular lamination press machines.
The subject plates do not contain heating elements or grooves or slots for attaching a heating
element. As imported, the subject plates merely have reflective surface finishes. The plates are
not etched or embossed to create a specific pattern or raised or recessed relief image onto the
plastic material, nor do they impart a unique characteristic to the material beyond its surface
finish. As imported, the subject plates present as thin, flat sheets of stainless steel with no indicia
of dedicated use. The subject plates’ lack of any unique form or characteristics that would
dedicate them for use solely or principally with lamination press machines, and their generalized
reflective finishes, indicate they are not “parts” for tariff purposes pursuant to the Pompeo test.
Furthermore, the subject plates do not satisfy the “parts” test set forth in Bauerhin as they are not
“integral, constituent, or component part[s]” of the lamination machines, such that those press
machines could not function as intended without the particular subject plates. Presumably, other
same-sized plates of different materials/finishes could be used. Indeed, Cardel’s website
describes different types of press plates for different applications, and there is no indication that
the same press machine cannot accept the various plate types featured. See
https://cardel.co.uk/lamination-plates/ (site last visited November 9, 2023). While the subject
plates and the lamination press machines may be designed to be used together, that does not
necessarily make the plates constituent “parts” or essential elements of those machines. They are
not structural elements or functional constituents of those machines. The subject plates are
removable and replaceable separate entities and do not rise to the level of parts for tariff purposes
under the Willoughby test. Accordingly, the subject articles are not classifiable as parts under
heading 8477, HTSUS.
The subject plates are distinguishable from the stainless-steel press plates at issue in
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 959857, dated September 15, 1997, cited by Protestant. HQ
959857 concerned press plates used to “emboss” a replica of their finish into the surface of a
laminate substrate. The plates at issue in HQ 959857 had been either chemically etched with a
finish composed of gently rolling hills and valleys or with a peened finish composed of
microscopic craters or moonscape designated. Both surface processes involved substantial
chemical and physical treatments and were designed to impart very particular patterns onto the
substrates. No other information is provided in HQ 959857 regarding the physical composition
of these plates and how they fit into a press machine. Additionally, in finding the embossed
plates to be “parts,” CBP cited to HQ 083325, dated May 1, 1989, as precedent for its
determination. That ruling concerns “decorative plates” made from a special stainless-steel alloy
(martensitic chromium steel) that has undergone special refining for a particular application,
namely use as press plates in the plastics lamination industry. As in HQ 959857, we lack
information on other physical properties of the plates at issue in HQ 083325.
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The subject stainless-steel plates, measuring 619 mm in width, are classified in heading
7019, specifically subheading 7019.90.00. HTSUS (2021), which provides for “[F]lat-rolled
products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more: Other.”
Country of Origin
When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying trade remedies under
Section 232 and Section 301, a substantial transformation analysis is applicable. The test for
determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a
process with a new name, character, or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to
processing. Texas Instruments, Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 151, 681 F.2d 778 (1982). To
determine whether a substantial transformation has occurred, CBP considers the totality of the
circumstances and makes such determinations on a case-by-case basis. CBP has stated that a
new and different article of commerce is an article that has undergone a change in commercial
designation or identity, fundamental character, or commercial use. A determinative issue is the
extent of the operations performed and whether the materials lose their identity and become an
integral part of the new article. This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See
National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir.
1993).
In National Hand Tool, the court held that mechanics’ hand tools, which were either cold-
formed or hot forged in Taiwan into their final shape before processing in the United States were
not substantially transformed by processing in the United States after importation. That
processing included heat treatment, formation of the grips, cleaning by sandblasting, tumbling
and/or chemical vibration, electroplating with nickel and chrome to resists rust and corrosion,
and assembly for some of the sockets. The court stated that the heat treatment, electroplating and
assembly in the United States did not change the character of the articles since each component
was either hot forged or cold-formed into its final shape in Taiwan. Further, there was a pre-
determined use of the goods after the forging in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, cold rolled stainless steel sheets are manufactured. Similar to National Hand
Tool, the additional processes in the U.K. consisting of cutting, deburring, cornering, and
polishing or peening, depending on the lamination press plate being produced, do not result in a
substantial transformation of the Taiwanese steel sheets. See also New York Ruling Letter (NY)
N340819, dated June 26, 2024 (hot-rolled, annealed, and shot blasted alloy steel plate of French
origin was not substantially transformed in the U.K. by a Waterjet cutting process and other
cutting to form the final dimensions) and NY N031536, dated July 16, 2008 (hot rolled, A36
steel plate manufactured in either Thailand or Indonesia did not undergo a substantial
transformation in Malaysia, where it was “burnt by a machine tool to a specific rectangular shape
based on a specific drawing”).
Based on the facts provided, it is our view that the cutting and additional machining
operations performed in the U.K. do not substantially transform the lamination press plates into a
new and different article of commerce with a character and use distinct from that of the exported
Taiwanese steel sheets. Accordingly, we find that the country of origin of the lamination press
plates is Taiwan.
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HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject lamination press plates are properly
classifiable under heading 7219, HTSUS, specifically subheading 7219.90.00, HTSUS, which
provides for “[F]lat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more: Other.”
The 2021 column one general rate of duty is free.
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 online at
http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
You are instructed to DENY the protest.
You are instructed to notify the Protestant of this decision no later than 60 days from the
date of this decision. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision
must be accomplished prior to this notification. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the
Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel and
the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) at https://rulings.cbp.gov/ or
other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
for Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
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