CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N2:421
Ms. Sarah Ackerman
Mishimoto Automotive
18 Boulder Circle
New Castle, DE 19720
RE: The tariff classification of silicone hose kits from China
Dear Ms. Ackerman:
In your letter dated May 28, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
You describe the products as silicone hoses imported as individually packaged kits. Each kit includes a complete set of specially designed hoses that are specific to a year, make and model of vehicle. Each kit is imported in the Mishimoto branded box in which it will be sold to the end user. The hoses are all constructed with four layers of heat resistant embedded textile fibers for reinforcement. The hoses are said to be used to route coolant between a vehicle’s radiator and engine. Some kits include additional ancillary hoses for routing coolant between the vehicle’s radiator and the radiator overflow reservoir. Other kits feature hoses designed to replace the engine’s air intake piping. The kits are sold to mechanic or job shops, to wholesale distributors such as auto supply stores, and directly to end users via website sales.
Each kit includes a set of vehicle specific hoses and a lifetime warranty. Since each kit is specially designed for a specific year, make and model vehicle, the size of each hose and the quantity of hoses per kit will vary. The kits are said to contain between two and seven hoses. Based on the representative illustrations provided with your letter, most of the components that you identify as hoses are over 12 inches in length, and would be considered to be hoses for tariff purposes. Some of the kits include components that may not measure over 12 inches in length and are in the nature of elbows, couplings or other fittings rather than hoses. Some kits include constant tension steel T-bolt clamps to secure the hoses to a specified area in the vehicle’s engine bay. Some include aluminum push-on fittings that function as hose connectors.
The hoses are made of silicone, which you describe as rubber. Note 4 to Chapter 40, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), describes synthetic rubber as applying to unsaturated synthetic substances which can be irreversibly transformed by vulcanization with sulfur into non-thermoplastic substances which, at a temperature between 18 and 29 degrees Centigrade, will not break on being extended to three times their original length and will return, after being extended to twice their original length, within a period of 5 minutes, to a length not greater than 1-1/2 times their original length. Silicone does not meet this test and thus is considered to be a plastics material and not rubber for tariff classification purposes.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the article. This office considers the hose kits, imported with any additional components such as steel clamps, aluminum fittings or silicone couplers and other fittings, to be sets for tariff purposes, with the essential character imparted by the silicone hoses. Although silicone hoses are described in heading 3917 of the HTSUS, legal note 2(t) to chapter 39 excludes parts of vehicles from classification in any of the headings of chapter 39.
The applicable subheading for the silicone hose kits will be 8708.99.8180, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705: Other parts and accessories: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be 2.5 percent ad valorem.
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/.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to give a classification ruling on any kits that do not include hoses that measure over 12 inches in length. If you wish a ruling on any kits that include only couplings and other fittings, your request for a classification ruling must include specific details about the components in the vehicle that the couplings and other fittings connect. Those details must clearly describe each component to which each fitting attaches, including the constituent material, the function, and the method of connection. When this information is available, you may wish to consider resubmission of your request. If you decide to resubmit your request, please include a copy of your original request, a copy of all supporting documentation and a copy of this ruling.
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 Joan Mazzola at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division