CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:1:118
Ms. Shannon Noble
Specialized Bicycle Components
1475 South 5070 West Ste A
Salt Lake City, UT 84104
RE: The tariff classification of cycling kits with components from multiple countries.
Dear Ms. Noble:
In your letter dated March 15, 2013, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The samples you have submitted are being returned as requested.
The three samples submitted for review are referred to as an E.M.T. Survival Kit, a Starter Kit and The Works Kit. You have stated that the items in the kits are used in cycling activities. They are imported packaged for retail sale on a cardboard hang card.
The E.M.T. Survival Kit includes the following items:
Mini Wedgie Seat Bag – the item attaches to the seat post of a bicycle under the saddle and is used to hold essentials for cycling. You have stated that it is made in China.
E.M.T. Sports Tool – this folding multi-functional hand held tool includes four Allen keys (sizes 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm and 6 mm), a Philips screwdriver and a tire lever. The country of origin is listed as Taiwan.
Flat Boy Patch Kit – includes six patches packaged in a small plastic case. The patches consist of pressure sensitive translucent plastic tape in the form of squares with rounded corners. The patches measure approximately 1 inch square. The kit includes a small square of an abrasive material on a backing. You state that the kit is made in the United States but you did not specify whether all of the components in the patch kit are made in the United States nor include any documentation supporting that claim. The rates of duty provided below are applicable if the components are manufactured in a country with which the United States has Normal Trade Relations.
The Starter Kit includes the Mini Wedgie Seat Bag described in the E.M.T. Survival Kit, along with the following items:
Zee Cage – designed to mount onto a bike frame and hold a water bottle. It is made of base metal and the country of origin is stated to be China.
Tire lever – a tool used to unseat tires. The tool consists of two levers made of molded plastics that snap together by means of built-in magnets. The levers are shaped with curved ends to facilitate removal of the tires. They are molded at the other end to a shape that functions as a bottle opener. The country of origin is listed as Taiwan.
Airtool Road Mini Pump – this compact pump is used to fix flats encountered on the road. It includes mounting hardware that allows it to be mounted onto a bicycle. The country of origin is stated to be Taiwan.
The Works Kit includes everything in The Starter Kit as well as the following items:
SpeedZone Sport Wireless Computer – you describe the item as a “compact bicycle speedometer.” When a spoke passes, it transmits a pulse from a magnetic sensor to the main device, which has its own LCD display and is routinely mounted to the handlebar with the supplied mounting hardware. With information input concerning the wheel size, the device can compute both the bicycle’s speed, as a speedometer, and distance traveled, as an odometer. Both speedometers and odometers are classified in 9029, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Within 9029, HTSUS, 9029.20, which includes Bicycle Speedometers, at minimum, equally merits consideration in supplying the essential character to the whole. The country of origin of the SpeedZone Sport Wireless Computer is listed as China.
200 page instruction manual – which is a paperback covered, glued booklet. The manual includes the SpeedZone Sport manufacturer’s information printed in several languages with text and illustrations on the operation and performance, customer care, troubleshooting and a certificate of warranty. You have stated that the country of origin of the instruction manual is China.
You have inquired as to whether the cycling kits can be considered sets for classification purposes. Each of the cycling kits consists of a single retail package containing articles that are classifiable under two or more separate headings or subheadings of the tariff. The Explanatory Notes represent the official interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated at the international level. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3 applies when goods are put up for sale collectively and are classifiable under two or more headings of the tariff. GRI 3(b) covers goods put up in sets for retail sale. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) defines "goods put up in sets for retail sale". Such goods: (a) consist of at least two different articles that are classifiable in different headings, (b) consist of products put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity, and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. The submitted articles in the cycling kits fail, in our opinion, to constitute a set for tariff classification purposes. They meet the criteria of elements (a) and (c) above. However, the articles in the kits do not consist of products put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a common specific activity. Having failed as a set in accordance with GRI 3(b), the articles in the cycling kits must be classified separately.
The applicable subheading for the pressure sensitive patches, included in the Flat Boy Patch Kit, will be 3919.90.5060, HTSUS, which provides for self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat shapes, of plastics, whether or not in rolls: other: other, other. The rate of duty will be 5.8 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the plastic tire lever will be 3926.90.9980, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics, other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable heading for the SpeedZone Sport instruction manual will be 4901.99.0093, HTSUS, which provides for other (than certain enumerated) printed books, containing 49 or more pages each (excluding covers). The rate of duty will be Free.
The applicable subheading for the E.M.T. Sports Tool will be 8204.11.0060, HTSUS, which provides for hand-operated spanners and wrenches (including torque meter wrenches but not including tap wrenches); socket wrenches, with or without handles, drives and extensions; base metal parts thereof: hand-operated spanners and wrenches, and parts thereof: nonadjustable, and parts thereof: other (including parts). The rate of duty will be 9 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Airtool Road Mini Pump, including its mounting hardware, will be 8414.20.0000, HTSUS, which provides for Air or vacuum pumps, air or other gas compressors and fans; ventilating or recycling hoods incorporating a fan, whether or not fitted with filters; parts thereof: Hand- or foot-operated air pumps. The rate of duty will be 3.7 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Zee Cage will be 8714.99.8000, HTSUS, which provides for parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713, other: other: other. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the SpeedZone Sport Wireless Computer, including its mounting hardware, will be 9029.20.2000, HTSUS, which provides for Bicycle Speedometers. The rate of duty will be 6 percent ad valorem.
Subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, provides for duty free entry of U.S. products that are exported and returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means while abroad. Articles satisfying the above conditions of the statute will be afforded duty free treatment, provided the documentary requirements of section 10.1, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. §10.1), are met. Products of the United States are not considered to have been advanced in value nor improved in condition merely by undergoing packaging operations in a foreign country. The repair patches and abrasive square are merely packed into the E.M.T. Survival Kit. Therefore, they will be eligible for the duty exemption available under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, provided the documentary requirements of section 10.1, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. §10.1), are met and the district director of Customs at the port of entry is satisfied that they were manufactured in the United States.
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/.
In addition to your classification request, you asked to be advised on the proper country of origin marking for the cycling kits. Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. In order to comply with these marking requirements, each item in the kits and their respective country of origin must be listed on the external packaging of the kits in a conspicuous manner. If a good is determined to be an article of U.S. origin, it is not subject to the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. §1304. Whether an article may be marked with the phrase "Made in the USA" or similar words denoting U.S. origin, is an issue under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We suggest that you contact the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, on the propriety of proposed marking indicating that an article is made in the U.S. Information can also be found at the FTC website www.ftc.gov.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to give a classification ruling on the Mini Wedgie Seat Bag or the abrasive square included with the Flat Boy Patch Kit. Your request for a classification ruling should include the following:
The Mini Wedgie Seat Bag is constructed of several different materials. It appears to be constructed of both plastic sheeting and textile material. Please identify each material. One of the materials appears to be a coated fabric. Please identify the chemical composition of the coating. We also need the value breakdowns for each material.
Regarding the abrasive square present in the “Flat Boy Patch Kit,”
Is this item coated with an abrasive powder or grain?
If so, indicate whether this abrasive powder or grain is natural or synthetic and identify the precise mineral or chemical name of this abrasive material.
Identify the material which forms the base of this square (i.e., the material onto which any abrasive powder or grain is coated.)
Indicate the country of origin of the abrasive square. Is the country of origin the United States?
When this information is available, you may wish to consider resubmission of your request. If you decide to resubmit your request, please include all relevant information and samples in order to issue a ruling.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
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 Anthony Grossi at (646) 733-3021.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division