CLA-2-73:S:N:N1:103 872165

Mr. Mark Bennett
Compass Trading Company
P.O. Box 1492
Puyallup, WA 98371

RE: The tariff classification of flail chains from The People's Republic of China

Dear Mr. Bennett:

In your letter dated March 3, 1992 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Flail chains are used in equipment designed to beat the bark off of logs. A drawing submitted with your inquiry indicates the chains will be composed of oblong-shaped welded links made from AISI 1020 steel containing .20 percent carbon and a maximum of .60 percent manganese. The links will have a diameter of 15.87 millimeters. The flail chains will be imported in lengths ranging from 15 to 22 inches and will be sold by your firm to distributors who will resell them to OEM's for incorporation into their bark removing equipment.

The applicable subheading for the flail chains will be 7315.82.7000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other welded link chain: of iron or nonalloy steel: over 10 mm in diameter. The rate of duty will be free.

You also inquired as to whether the flail chains need be individually marked with their country of origin. You state that they will be imported in crates which are properly marked to indicate the country of origin of the chains they contain. Section 134.32(h) of the Customs Regulations states that marking of articles may be waived when an ultimate purchaser must necessarily know the country of origin of the articles by reason of the circumstances of their importation or by reason of their character even though they are not marked to indicate their origin. Under the circumstances described in your letter, the incorporation of the flail chains into machinery for the removal of bark would appear to cause the chains to lose their identity and become an integral part of a new article. The OEM's would thus be the ultimate purchasers of the imported flail chains, and the flail chains would be exempt from individual country of origin marking provided they were received by the OEM's in their original marked crates. We suggest you contact the local Customs office at the port of importation for further guidance in this area.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport