CLA-2-73:OT:RR:NC:N1:116
Mr. Aaron Marx
Crowell & Moring, LLP
1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
RE: The tariff classification of seamless steel pipes from Japan
Dear Mr. Marx:
In your letter dated October 31, 2022, you requested a tariff classification ruling on seamless steel pipes for your client, Metal One America, Inc. (“Metal One”). In a subsequent email you stated that the pipes’ country of origin is Japan.
Metal One has two products under consideration. The first is described as a seamless steel pipe of circular cross section, made of alloy steel. The second is described as a seamless steel pipe of circular cross section, made of nonalloy steel. Both products are designed for geothermal applications and are produced to American Petroleum Institute (API) standard API 5CT, grade L80 Type 1. The pipes are buried, not drilled, into the ground and will be used to produce lithium brine in geothermal wells. The pipes are not permanent and can be reused in other wells. Both pipes have an outside diameter of 16 inches (406.40 mm) and a wall thickness of 16.66 mm. Neither is cold-drawn or cold-reduced.
The pipes, while manufactured to API 5CT specifications, are not intended to be used for drilling in the oil or gas industry, but instead will be used in the production of lithium brine, and therefore should be classified as other pipes or tubes. The applicable subheading for the alloy pipes will be 7304.59.8065, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, seamless, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel: other, of circular cross section, of other alloy steel: other: other: other: other: having an outside diameter exceeding 285.8 mm but not exceeding 406.4 mm: having a wall thickness of 12.7 mm or more but less than 19 mm.
The applicable subheading for the non-alloy pipes will be 7304.39.0068, HTSUS, which provides for tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, seamless, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel: other, of circular cross section, of iron or nonalloy steel: other: other: other: having an outside diameter exceeding 285.8 mm but not exceeding 406.4 mm: having a wall thickness of 12.7 mm or more but less than 19 mm. The rate of duty will be 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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
On March 8, 2018, Presidential proclamations 9704 and 9705 imposed additional tariffs and quotas on a number of steel and aluminum mill products. Exemptions have been made on a temporary basis for some countries. Quantitative limitations or quotas may apply for certain exempted countries and can also be found in Chapter 99. Additional duties for steel of 25 percent and for aluminum of 10 percent are reflected in Chapter 99, subheading 9903.80.01 for steel and subheading 9903.85.01 for aluminum. Products classified under subheadings 7304.59.8065 and 7304.39.0068, HTSUS, may be subject to additional duties or quota. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading applicable to your product classification in addition to the Chapter 72, 73 or 76 subheading listed above.
The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading.
The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties and countervailing duties (AD/CVD). Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You can contact them at https://trade.gov/enforcement/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the Department of Commerce ITA website at https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/adcvd-proceedings, and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP’s AD/CVD Search tool at https://aceservices.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Angelia Amerson at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division