CLA-2-87:OT:RR:NC:N2:206
Katrina Hearst
Axiom WW Logistix
4251 W John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 100
Irving, TX 75063
RE: The tariff classification of a sound/speaker bar from China
Dear Ms. Hearst:
In your letter dated November 3, 2022, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Veymerica Industries LLC., DBA Epic Supply Solutions.
The articles under consideration are components that are used to make a sound/speaker bar housing designed to be used in All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and the like. As an assembled unit, they are bolted to the underside of the roof of the vehicle. You state that they hold four (4) speakers, a light, and a head unit when assembled. In the additional information provided to this office upon request, you confirmed that the components are made of acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) plastic. The components are imported with no electronics in them until after they arrive in the United States.
The applicable subheading for the components of the sound/speaker bar will be 8708.29.5160, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705: Other parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs): Other: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 2.5% ad valorem.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 8708.29.5160, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 8708.29.5160, HTSUS, 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. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china respectively.
With regard to the applicability of exclusions from the additional duties pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, we note the exclusions annotated in the June 24, 2019, Federal Register apply to importers of merchandise meeting a specific description, even when they are neither the requestor of the exclusion nor if their products are those that were reviewed for the exclusion. Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(ttt)(iii) and Annex Enumeration (147), HTSUS, states:
The U.S.Trade Representative determined to establish a process by which particular products classified in heading 9903.88.03 and provided for in U.S. notes 20(e) and 20(f) to this subchapter could be excluded from the additional duties imposed by heading 9903.88.03, and by which particular products classified in heading 9903.88.04 and provided for in U.S. note 20(g) to this subchapter could be excluded from the additional duties imposed by heading 9903.88.04. See 83 Fed. Reg. 47974 (September 21, 2018) and 84 Fed. Reg. 29576 (June 24, 2019). Pursuant to the product exclusion process, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that, as provided in heading 9903.88.67, the additional duties provided for in heading 9903.88.03 or in heading 9903.88.04 shall not apply to the following particular products, which are provided for in the enumerated statistical reporting numbers:
Tire carrier attachments, roof racks, fender liners, side protective attachments, the foregoing of steel (described in statistical reporting number 8708.29.5060 prior to January 27, 2022; described in statistical reporting number 8708.29.5160 effective January 27, 2022).
Based on the pertinent facts, we find that the subject plastic housing does not satisfy the description as provided in Annex Enumeration (147) above. The exclusions provided under Note 20(ttt) are to be administered in their exact form. As you described in your submission, the article is made of ASA plastic, not steel, as required by the exclusion language. In addition, sound/speaker bars are not described in the exclusion by name. Therefore, in our opinion, the exclusion notated under Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(ttt)(iii)(147) does not apply to the sound/speaker bar.
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 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, please contact National Import Specialist Liana Alvarez at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division