CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Gavin Kennedy
Corporate Controller
Chatsworth Products, Inc.
31425 Agoura Road
Westlake Village, CA 91361
RE: The tariff classification of cable managers from China.
Dear Mr. Kennedy:
In your letter dated February 14, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Background information and product information were obtained through Chatsworth Products, Inc. (CPI’s) technical specification sheets.
CPI’s, Evolution® Cable Management provides an engineered solution for managing high-density cabling applications on open two-post and four-post CPI rack systems, delivering increased performance to match the demands of data center applications. CPI’s cable managers are used on the sides of floor or ground standing racks to manage premise cables, patch cords and jumper cords. The following CPI racks incorporate cable managers: (1) Standard Rack, (2) Universal Rack, (3) QuadraRack® 4- Post Frame, (4) QuadraRack® Server Frame, (5) Adjustable QuadraRack® (AQR), (6) Adjustable ServerRack (ASR), (7) Adjustable Rail QuadraRack® (ARQR), and (8) Adjustable Rail ServerRack (ARSR). The products range in size from 6 inches to 15 inches wide and 6 to 8 feet high. These cable managers are for indoor use only, in environmentally controlled areas, and may not be used outdoors in harsh environments or in air-handling areas.
“Evolution® g1 cable manager” is a single-sided vertical manager consisting of a steel frame with steel cross support members. The g1 includes: contoured steel front door with easy-open knobs and vertical center in contrasting aluminum finish, rigid cable manager with 1U spaced plastic T-shaped cable guides (fingers), three fixed accessory panels at the back of the cable manager, and three large cable distribution spools and cable distribution spool spacers included with 10” W, 12” W and 15” W mangers. There are no active electronic components with this product.
“Evolution® g2 cable manager” is a double-sided vertical manager consisting of a steel frame with steel cross support members. The g2 includes: contoured steel front door with easy-open knobs and vertical center in contrasting aluminum finish, rigid cable manager with 1U spaced plastic T-shaped cable guides (fingers), rear door with easy-open knobs in all black finish, three movable mid-sections, and three large cable distribution spools and cable distribution spool spacers included with 10” W, 12” W and 15” W mangers. There are no active electronic components with this product.
“Evolution® g3 cable manager” is a combination vertical manager consisting of a steel frame with steel cross support members. The g3 includes: contoured steel front door with easy-open knobs and vertical center in contrasting aluminum finish, adjustable rear cable rings with spin-open latches on the back side (no rear door/cover), and three large cable distribution spools and cable distribution spool spacers included with 10” W, 12” W and 15” W mangers. There are no active electronic components with this product.
When interpreting and implementing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The General ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS, state in pertinent part, with regard to the meaning of furniture, at (A): for the purposes of this Chapter, the term “furniture” means: Any “movable” articles (not included under other more specific headings of the Nomenclature), which have the essential characteristic that they are constructed for placing on the floor or ground, and which are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip private dwellings, hotels, theatres, cinemas, offices, churches, schools, cafes, restaurants, laboratories, hospitals…etc…. Further, the ENs to the HTSUS, state in pertinent part that Chapter 94 covers “Parts” whether or not in the rough, of the goods of headings 9401 to 9403, when identifiable by their shape or other specific feature as parts designed solely or principally for an article of those headings; they are classified in this Chapter when not more specifically covered elsewhere.
Our review of the Legal Notes to Chapter 94, HTSUS, found no exclusions preventing the cable managers from being classified within the furniture provisions of the chapter. Also, it appears that no other heading or heading with its parts provision more specifically provides for the classification of cable managers. As imported, the cable managers fall within the meaning of parts of furniture as described by the ENs to the Chapter 94, HTSUS. CPI’s cable managers serve no other function or purpose other than to be used with CPI’s racks for the managing of premise cables, patch cords and jumper cords in the facilitation of connectivity for data center applications, such as LAN, internet and telecommunication environments. Accordingly, the cable managers are classified in subheading 9403.90, HTSUS, the subheading for parts of other furniture.
The applicable subheading for the Evolution® g1 cable manager, Evolution® g2 cable manager and Evolution® g3 cable manager, will be 9403.90.8041, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other: Other: Of metal: Other.” 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 on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
The goods in question may be subject to Antidumping (AD) orders under case number A-570-967 (aluminum extrusions from China) and Countervailing Duties (CVD) under case number C-570-968 (aluminum extrusions from China). It is unclear based on company provided information, if the “vertical center in contrasting aluminum finish” is steel with an aluminum appearance or an extruded piece of aluminum. Never the less, written decisions regarding the scope of AD orders and CVD related goods are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce, and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD or CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division