OT:RR:NC:N1:102
Daniel Wintemute
Dealer Part Source, Inc.
6543 Chupp Road Lithonia, GA 30058
RE: The classification and country of origin of a pin and sleeve assembly
Dear Mr. Wintemute:
In your letter dated September 19, 2023, you requested a ruling concerning the classification and country of origin for a pin and sleeve assembly. Descriptive literature was submitted.
The pin and sleeve assembly is referred to as a matched set of tubes available in five different sizes. In use, a pin is inserted into a sleeve, and together, the pin and sleeve push against the track lugs located on the inside track of a machine, such as a shovel loader. Like a drive sprocket tooth, the pin and sleeve assembly transfers the rotational movement of the drive motor to the track of the machine. The pin and sleeve tubes will be imported together in the same quantities.
In your letter, you suggest the pin and sleeve assembly is classified within subheading 8483.90.5090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Other parts of gearing, gear boxes and other speed changers. We agree, as a pin and sleeve assembly for a shovel loader was previously classified within HTSUS subheading 8483.90.50. See New York Ruling M84042, dated June 28, 2006.
As such, the applicable subheading for the pin and sleeve assembly will be 8483.90.5090, HTSUS, which provides for Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks; bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings; gears and gearing; ball or roller screw; gear boxes and other speed changers, including torque converters; flywheels and pulleys, including pulley blocks; clutches and shaft couplings (including universal joints); parts thereof: Toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately; parts: Parts of gearing, gear boxes and other speed changers: Other. The rate of duty is 2.5 percent ad valorem.
Regarding the country of origin of the pin and sleeve assembly, you explain that Chinese raw material, referred to as tubes, is imported into Vietnam. The tubes measure 39.37 feet in length and the outside diameters of the tubes measure 1.00 or 1.50 inches. In Vietnam, the tubes are cut into lengths that measure between 3.9 to 6.7 inches. Afterwards, the ends of the tubes are deburred and chamfered. Specifically, the inside and outside of the tube ends are deburred and the inside diameter is chamfered. The pin of the assembly is heat treated for extra hardness.
The marking statute, section 304, 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 its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.
The "country of origin" is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as "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."
The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff'd, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In the case at hand, the tubes are cut-to-length, deburred, and chamfered in Vietnam. The pin undergoes an additional process that affects hardness, i.e., a heat treatment. CBP has consistently held that cutting, threading, chamfering, and surface finishing does not effect a substantial transformation. See Headquarters (HQ) rulings 734186, dated October 24, 1991; H308206, dated February 2, 2021; and H303868, dated June 27, 2019. In these rulings CBP determined that cutting processes and the surface finishing of tubes did not result in a substantial transformation.
Therefore, based on the facts presented for the pin and sleeve assembly, the manufacturing operations that occur in Vietnam, such as in the referenced HQ rulings, do not result in a substantial transformation. As such, the country of origin of the pin and sleeve assembly is China.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 8483.90.5090, 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 8483.90.5090, 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, including information on exclusions and their effective dates, 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.
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.
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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 Sandra Martinez at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division