CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:463
Lynee McGowan
GHY USA Inc.
572 South 5th Street
Pembina, ND 58271
RE: The tariff classification, country of origin and AD/CVD reporting of a bathroom vanity
Dear Ms. McGowan:
This ruling is being issued in reply to your letter dated April 16, 2024, requesting the tariff classification and country of origin of a bathroom vanity on behalf of your client, The Vanity Store. In lieu of samples, illustrative literature, product descriptions and pictures were provided, as were dimensions, values, and component classifications under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
You inquired about the following:
1) Can the cabinet base, countertop, and sink, which will be imported together on one pallet and sold as one bathroom vanity, be classified as 9403.60.8081 with the country of origin of Canada?
2) Is the stainless-steel sink still subject to anti-dumping, A-570-983, and countervailing duty, C-570-984, if it is sold as part of the bathroom vanity?
3) Does the stainless-steel sink need to be listed as a separate line item, with its own classification number and country of origin, because of the anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders?
4) If the sink is listed separately, can the cabinet base and countertop still be listed as one vanity under subheading 9403.60.8081 and with the country of origin as Canada?
GENERAL:
The 60" Vanity Single Sink (SKU # TEO-011-60S-BLACK) bathroom vanity, subject of this ruling, is comprised of an assembled wood cabinet base, an engineered stone countertop (93% quartz, 7% resin), and one stainless-steel sink. The components are boxed separately to prevent damage during transit but are secured and shipped together on one pallet as one complete bathroom vanity, and they are sold together as one bathroom vanity.
In some cases, a wood cabinet base will be imported and sold separately. The countertop and sink are not imported and sold separately.
The 60" Vanity Single Sink (SKU # TEO-011-60S-BLACK) is a floor-standing bathroom vanity with one centrally located stainless-steel sink and an engineered stone countertop and backsplash. There are two cabinet doors immediately underneath the sink and two columns of three drawers, one at each end of the vanity. The cabinet base is made of solid wood and stands on four wood legs, one at each corner. You state that the drawn stainless-steel sink is within the scope of antidumping order A-570-983 and countervailing duty order C-570-984. Vanity dimensions and materials, as well as the costs, classification numbers and origins of those materials are as follows:
DIMENSIONS:
COSTS: (Expressed as a Percentage)
The principal components, their HTSUS numbers and countries of origin are as follows:
MATERIAL HTSUS ORIGIN
PROCESSING OPERATIONS:
Cabinet Base: Canadian wood boards used to produce the interior frame, exterior panels, drawer boxes, doors, legs, etc. are cut to size, drilled, glued, sanded, sprayed, and assembled into a finished cabinet in Canada. It is subsequently boxed.
Stone Countertop: The engineered stone slab (93% quartz, 7% resin) is manufactured in Spain and imported into Canada. In Canada, the slab is cut to the required size, holes are cut for the sink, holes are drilled for the faucet, and the edges are smoothed and polished. It is subsequently boxed.
Drawn Stainless-Steel Sink: The drawn stainless-steel sink is manufactured in China and imported into Canada. It undergoes no processing operations in Canada, and it remains boxed.
The finished cabinet base is then palletized with the finished stone countertop and finished stainless-steel sink in Canada and subsequently shipped. The cabinet base, countertop and sink will be assembled to create a complete bathroom vanity in the U.S.
VANITY CLASSIFICATION:
You inquired whether the three components that comprise the vanity (cabinet base, countertop, and sink) can be classified as 9403.60.8081 when imported together on one pallet and sold as one bathroom vanity.
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
Since the subject article is imported unassembled, GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS applies. Under GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS, Any reference to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or failing to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule) entered unassembled or disassembled. The subject article is a complete unassembled vanity and will thus, by virtue of GRI 2(a), be classified as a complete and assembled vanity.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and coding System, which constitutes the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. The ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS state, in relevant part, that the term furniture means: (A): 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. Similar articles (seats, chairs, etc.) for use in gardens, squares, promenades, etc., are included in this category.
The subject vanity meets this definition of furniture and therefore will be classified as furniture in heading 9403.
Since the article is composed of different materials (wood, engineered stone, stainless-steel, etc.), it is considered a composite good for tariff purposes. The ENs to the HTSUS, GRI 3(b) (VIII), state that the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight, or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good.
With respect to the vanity, the cabinet base is significantly larger and more expensive than either the countertop or the sink. Additionally, barring significant evidence to the contrary, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically found that the cabinet base imparts the essential character to a bathroom vanity(see NYRLs N337700, N321371, N072162, N025049, and N024951). The essential character of the complete unassembled vanity is imparted by the wood cabinet base.
The applicable classification for the subject article, 60" Vanity Single Sink (SKU # TEO-011-60S-BLACK), will be subheading 9403.60.8081, HTSUS, which provides for Other furniture and parts thereof: Other wooden furniture: Other: Other. The general rate of duty will be free.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND MARKING:
You inquired whether the three articles that comprise the vanity (cabinet base, countertop, and sink), when imported together on one pallet and sold as one bathroom vanity, can be marked with the country of origin Canada.
Country of origin under 19 USC 1304 is implemented by 19 CFR Part 134. Unless excepted by law, 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 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.
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; however, for a good of a NAFTA or USMCA country, the marking rules set forth in part 102 of this chapter (hereinafter referred to as the part 102 Rules) will determine the country of origin. Pursuant to section 102.0, interim regulations, related to the marking rules, tariff-rate quotas, and other USMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth in 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respect to goods imported from Canada and Mexico.
Section 102.11 provides a hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile goods which are subject to the provisions of 19 CFR 102.21. When applied in sequential order, 19 CFR 102.11 establishes that the country of origin of a non-textile good is the country in which: (a)(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced; (a)(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or (a)(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in 19 CFR 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section.
Since neither the complete vanity nor the cabinet base are wholly obtained or produced (19 CFR 102.11(a)(1)), nor are they made exclusively from domestic materials (102.102.11(a)(2)), we proceed to 102.11(a)(3), which directs us to the 19 CFR 102.20, Specific Rules by Tariff Classification.
With respect to the vanity (classified in subheading 9403.60.8081, HTSUS) and the cabinet base (also classified in 9403.60.8081), the applicable 19 CFR 102.20 rule is as follows:
9403.109403.89
A change to subheading 9403.10 through 9403.89 from any other subheading outside that group, except from subheading 9401.10 through 9403.89, and except from subheading 9401.91 through 9401.99 or 9403.91 through 9403.99, when that change is pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 2(a)
Since the wood, drawer slides, pulls, etc., used to produce the cabinet base undergo the specified change in tariff classification in Canada, the origin of the cabinet base is Canada.
Similarly, since the engineered stone slab used to produce the countertop undergoes the specified change in tariff classification in Canada, the origin of the countertop is Canada.
However, the specified change in classification that the stainless-steel sink undergoes in Canada in accordance with GRI 2(a)when secured to a pallet with a cabinet base and countertopis impermissible as a non-qualifying operation under 19 CFR 102.17(c) and (e), as excerpted, below:
102.17 Non-Qualifying Operations
Aforeign materialshall not be considered to have undergone an applicable change in tariff classification specified inSection 102orSection 102.21or to have met any other applicable requirements of those sections merely by reason of one or more of the following:
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(c)Simple packing, repacking or retail packaging without more thanminor processing;
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(e)Collecting parts that, as collected, are classifiable in the same tariff provision as an assembled good pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 2(a), without any additional operation other thanminor processing.
Since the terms of 102.11(a) are not met for the sink, to determine the country of origin of the vanity, we proceed to 102.11(b), excerpted below:
(b)Except for a good that is specifically described in theHarmonized Systemas a set, or is classified as a set pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined underparagraph (a)of this section:
(1)The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the singlematerialthat imparts the essential character to the good
In this instance, the good is the vanity and the materials are the cabinet base, the countertop, and the sink.
To identify the single material that imparts the essential character to the good, we look to 19 CFR 102.18(b)(1), which states:
(b)(1) For purposes of identifying thematerialthat imparts the essential character to a good under 102.11, the onlymaterialsthat shall be taken into consideration are those domestic orforeign materialsthat are classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the 102.20specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(1):
(i)Thematerialsto be considered must be classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good under consideration.
Per 102.18(b)(1)(i), the only materials to be considered are those that do not meet the previously indicated 19 CFR 102.20 tariff-shift rule. As previously noted, that rule requires that the materials be from a subheading other than 9403.10 9403.89. The only material that fails that condition is the cabinet base because both the base and the complete unassembled vanity take the same wooden furniture classification. Therefore, the country of origin of the cabinet basein this case Canadaconveys to the complete vanity.
ANTIDUMPING/COUNTERVAILING (AD/CVD)
In your inquiry, you stated that the drawn stainless-steel sink incorporated into this vanity is within the scope of antidumping order A-570-983 and countervailing duty C-570-984 (drawn stainless-steel sinks) and inquired whether the sink should be listed as a separate line item in the entry submission with its own classification and value.
CBP relies on the substantial transformation analysis when determining the country of origin for purposes of applying antidumping and countervailing duties. The courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff'd, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982).
However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff'd, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (Uniroyal).
Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987).
Since the Chinese stainless-steel sink is merely packaged with the cabinet base and countertop, it does not undergo a substantial transformation and retains its identity as a Chinese sink and thus remains subject to A-570-983 and countervailing duty C-570-984.
Two or more entry lines are required on the entry summary to report AD/CVD when a shipment contains multiple goods covered by a single HTSUS number and only a portion of those goods are subject to AD/CVD. In this instance, the Chinese stainless-steel sink should be reported on one entry summary line, and the rest of the vanity should be reported on another. (See CSMS 18-000379.)
Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You can contact them at https://trade.gov/enforcement/ (click on Contact Us). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at https://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/documents/orders.xls, and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP's AD/CVD search tool at
https://aceservices.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
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 Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Seth Mazze at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division