CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Ronak Ganatra
QSB LLC.
5422 Pine Bay Drive
Tampa, FL 33625
RE: The tariff classification of tungsten carbide rings from China; and country of origin marking requirements.
Dear Mr. Ganatra:
In your letter dated March 25, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling for tungsten carbide rings. Additionally, you inquire as to the applicable country of origin marking requirements for the tungsten carbide rings. Photos were provided for two different tungsten carbide rings.
Bar code numbers STZSSR-1119S (size # 14) and X000CK3A1F (size # 11.5) are described as tungsten carbide rings. The rings are composed of approximately 85% tungsten, 15% carbon and trace amounts of nickel. Nickel is used as a binder in the formulation of the rings to prevent the rings from discoloring during wear.
Tungsten carbide (WC) is an inorganic, non-natural, compound of tungsten (W) and carbon (C). WC does not occur naturally. WC also referred to as cemented carbide, is a composite material manufactured by a process called powder metallurgy. Tungsten carbide powder, generally ranging in proportion between 70%-97% of the total weight, is mixed with a binder metal, usually cobalt or nickel, compacted in a die and then sintered in a furnace. The term “cemented” refers to the tungsten carbide particles being captured in the metallic binder material and “cemented” together, forming a metallurgical bond between the tungsten carbide particles and the binder (WC - Co), in the sintering process. We find that the cemented carbide industry commonly refers to this type of material as simply “carbide,” although the terms tungsten carbide and cemented carbide are used interchangeably.
Makers of tungsten carbide rings combine tungsten in a powder form with various binders (for jewelry nickel is preferred) and sinter it all together at temperatures between 1400 °C and 2000 °C in a graphite lined furnace (carbothermic reaction) to achieve beautifully polished and nearly indestructible WC rings.
Section XV, “Base Metals and Articles of Base Metals,” Legal Notes 3, 4 and 5 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) are germane and appropriate to the discussion at hand for determining the proper classification of the WC rings. Legal Note 3 defines the meaning of the term “base metal” for the entire tariff schedule, of which the material of tungsten carbide is not listed. Legal Note 4 provides meaning to the term “cermets” and in relevant part states that the term includes sintered metal carbides (metal carbides sintered with a metal). Legal Note 5, at (c), states: in this section the term “alloy” includes sintered mixtures of metal powders, heterogeneous intimate mixtures obtained by melting (other than cermets) and intermetallic compounds. It is our opinion based on a reading of these legal notes that the WC rings are not of based metal since they are not listed in Legal Note 3, and that the WC rings are not an alloy of base metals as they are cermets and are excluded from such categorization by means of Legal Note 5 (c) to Section XV.
The applicable subheading for the tungsten carbide rings, not being of base metal or an alloy of base metals, will be 7117.90.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Imitation Jewelry: Other: Other: Valued over 20 cents per dozen pieces or parts: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be 11% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent TSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), and placed into Federal Regulation by 19 C.F.R. Part 134, provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. § 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940).
19 C.F.R. § 134.1(d) defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported; this does not apply to a good of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) country. The merchandise concerned is not a NAFTA good. Therefore, if an imported article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser. In the case before us, the ultimate purchaser of the WC rings is the consumer who purchases the product at retail, and as such the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the United States is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.
With respect to the country of origin marking of the WC rings, die stamping or cast-in-the mold lettering would the most secure way of legibly, indelibly, and permanently affix the country of origin of China into the rings. However, this is not a requirement for the WC rings, but merely a suggestion. Without knowing the manner in which the WC rings are packaged, a hangtag onto each of the WC rings or a firmly attached sticker label onto each of the WC rings, identifying the country of origin as China, will satisfy the marking requirements as provided by law, statute and regulation.
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 E-mail address: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division