CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:SP:221
Mr. Floyd Armstrong
Art & Enns Technology Inc.
345 Bach Road
Kelowna, BC, Canada V1X 2K8
RE: The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of artists’ panels from Canada; Article 509
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
In your letter dated December 9, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling and NAFTA status ruling for artists’ panels from Canada.
Samples identified as watercolor panels and watercolor cradle panels were submitted with your request. Both types of products are used as artists’ canvases. They are made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, with surfaces treated to accept watercolor paints. The watercolor panels are in the form of rectangular plates. It is unclear whether some of the plates are beveled or otherwise further worked. The sample cradle panels consist of ABS plates mounted onto a wooden frame.
Panels that are in the form of rectangular plates that have not been further worked are classifiable as sheets of heading 3920 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Sheets made of copolymers such as ABS are classifiable according to the monomer that predominates by weight. In general, styrene is the monomer that predominates by weight in ABS copolymers. For purposes of this reply it is assumed that the styrene in the ABS copolymer forming these artists’ panels predominates by weight over the acrylonitrile and the butadiene. If this assumption is not accurate then provide a breakdown by weight for each monomer in the ABS.
Sheets of heading 3920 may be surface worked but may not be further worked. Sanding the surface or coating the surface with a compound that allows the ABS to accept watercolor pigments is considered to be surface working and not further working. Beveling the edges or mitering the corners is considered to be further working. Adding a cradle base made of wood, plastic, metal or any other material is further working.
The applicable subheading for the ABS panels in the form of rectangular sheets or plates that have not been further worked, when the styrene predominates by weight, will be 3920.30.0000, HTSUS, which provides for other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, noncellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported or similarly combined with other materials: of polymers of styrene. The general rate of duty will be 5.8 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the ABS panels when in the form of rectangular sheets or plates that have been further worked, e.g., with beveled edges or mitered corners, or when in the form of cradle panels with frames made of any material, will be 3926.90.9980, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics, other. The general rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
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 on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
General Note 12(b), HTSUS, sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is originating under the NAFTA. General Note 12(b), HTSUS, (19 U.S.C. § 1202) states, in pertinent part, that
For the purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for the tariff treatment and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as “goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party” only if--
(i) they are goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States; or
(ii) they have been transformed in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States so that--
(A) except as provided in subdivision (f) of this note, each of the non-originating materials used in the production of such goods undergoes a change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note or the rules set forth therein, or
(B) the goods otherwise satisfy the applicable requirements of subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) where no change in tariff classification is required, and the goods satisfy all other requirements of this note; or
(iii) they are goods produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States exclusively from originating materials; or
(iv) they are produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States but one or more of the non-originating materials falling under provisions for “parts” and used in the production of such goods does not undergo a change in tariff classification because--
(A) the goods were imported into the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States in unassembled or disassembled form but were classified as assembled goods pursuant to general rule of interpretation 2(a), or
(B) the tariff headings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts and is not further divided into subheadings, or the subheadings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts,
provided that such goods do not fall under chapters 61 through 63, inclusive, of the tariff schedule, and provided further that the regional value content of such goods, determined in accordance with subdivision (c) of this note, is not less than 60 percent where the transaction value method is used, or is not less than 50 percent where the net cost method is used, and such goods satisfy all other applicable provisions of this note.
You state that almost all of the components that go into the manufacturing of these panels originate in the United States. You specify that the ABS and the coating materials originate in the United States and that the wood used in the frame originates either in British Columbia or Washington State. Based on the facts provided, the goods described above qualify for NAFTA preferential treatment as long as the Regional Value Requirements are met because they will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(A). The goods will therefore be entitled to a free rate of duty under the NAFTA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements, including Regional Value Content requirements specified in General Note 12(t)(39.1) for the rectangular panels of heading 3920 and in General Note 12(t)(39.10) for the further worked panels and cradle panels of heading 3926.
This ruling letter has not addressed the Regional Value Content (RVC) of the subject goods. If you desire a ruling regarding the RVC of your goods and their eligibility for NAFTA preferential treatment, provide the information noted in Section 181.93(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 181.93(b)), to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings Mint Annex, 799 9th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001-4501, along with a copy of this letter. That information should include the country of origin of each of individual monomers of the ABS resin, the country of origin of the precursor materials of those individual monomers, and the country of origin of all other ingredients as well as their precursor ingredients. Provide a breakdown showing the cost of each component, the country of each processing step and the cost of each processing step.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division