CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N2:220
Florey Del Rio
Rexel Canada Electrical Inc.
5600 Keaton Crescent
Mississauga, Ontario L5R 3G3
Canada
RE: The tariff classification of enclosed pushbutton switches from Canada
Dear Ms. Del Rio:
In your letter dated March 22, 2019 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
There are two items under consideration which are identified as Pushbutton Stations PB-01 and PB-02. Pushbutton Station PB-01 is described as a stainless steel enclosure containing a single pushbutton switch mounted inside. Pushbutton Station PB-02 is described as a carbon steel enclosure containing a single pushbutton switch mounted inside. You state that for both Pushbutton Stations the enclosures are produced in the United States and the pushbutton switches are manufactured in France, and that the station is assembled in Canada.
The applicable subheading for the Pushbutton Stations PB-01 and PB-02 will be 8536.50.9035, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS), which provides for “Electrical apparatus for switching…: Other switches: Other: Other: Push-button: Rated at over 5 A”. The general rate of duty will be 0.6%.
With regard to the country of origin marking of the Pushbutton Stations, Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such a manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. The regulations implementing the requirements and exception to 19 U.S.C. § 1304 are set forth in Part 134, Customs and Border Protection Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 134).
19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides as follows:
Country of origin means the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin.
Since Canada is a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules must be applied in this case for purposes of determining the country of origin for purposes of marking.
Part 102, Customs and Border Protection Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 102), sets forth the NAFTA Marking Rules. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.11. Applied in sequential order, the required hierarchy establishes that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:
(a)(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
(a)(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(a)(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in Section 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
Sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) do not apply to the facts presented in this case because the Pushbutton Stations are neither wholly obtained nor produced exclusively from “domestic” materials. Because the analysis of sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) does not yield a country of origin determination, we look to section 102.11(a)(3). “Foreign material” is defined in 19 C.F.R. § 102.1(e) as “a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced.” The applicable rule for subheading 8536.50.9035, HTSUS, in section 102.20 requires:
A change to any other good of subheading 8536.10 through 8536.90 from any other subheading, including another subheading within that group.
As previously stated, the pushbutton switches are imported into Canada from France and are therefore designated as foreign material. Consequently, in order to meet the tariff shift requirement the components must be classifiable outside of subheading 8536.50, HTSUS. You state that the pushbutton switches are classifiable under subheading 8536.50 and the enclosures are classifiable under subheading 7326.90. Accordingly, the switches do not satisfy the applicable subheading change.
We would note that the assembly operations for the Pushbutton Stations conducted in Canada are considered simple assembly, where five or fewer components are assembled to produce each Pushbutton Station. Thus, for purposes of marking and in accordance with Section 102.11.(d)(1), the country of origin of the Pushbutton Stations is France.
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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 Karl Moosbrugger at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division