Recent CBP Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP “NY” rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
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N318655: The tariff classification of an extruder gun from Italy
| HTS: Trousers: 8477.80.0000, 3.1%, which provides for “Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machinery.” |
| Item: A mechanical device that heats rubber material that is then extruded through a nozzle. It consists of a pneumatic drive and includes five different sized tips. The gun is used to make section repairs on commercial truck tires and off-road tires. The gun is imported without the electrical heater box. |
| Reason: The Extruder Gun, even imported incomplete without the electrical heater box, has the essential character of a complete Extruder Gun classifiable in heading 8477. |
| Ruling Date: April 14, 2021 |
N318485: A country of origin determination of elephant grass tote bags
| HTS: 4602.19.2940, 5.3%, “Basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials or made up from articles of heading 4601 ... Of vegetable materials: Luggage, handbags and flatgoods, whether or not lined: Other: Other.” |
| Item: Tote bags that measure approximately 11” high by 21” wide at their widest point by 7” deep and have no closure at the top. They consist of a woven basket of elephant grass forming the body of the bag. Attached are leather handles, a leather logo patch and a small interior leather pocket that is lined and includes a zipper closure. |
| Reason: "Plaiting materials" means materials in a state or form suitable for plaiting, interlacing or similar processes; it includes straw, osier or willow, bamboos, rattans, rushes, reeds, strips of wood, strips of other vegetable material (for example, strips of bark, narrow leaves and raffia or other strips obtained from broad leaves), unspun natural textile fibers, monofilament and strip and the like of plastics and strips of paper, but not strips of leather or composition leather or of felt or nonwovens, human hair, horsehair, textile rovings or yarns, or monofilament and strip and the like of chapter 54. The elephant grass comprising the body of the tote bags meets the definition of plaiting materials. |
| Ruling Date: April 14, 2021 |
N318385: The tariff classification of two cement mixtures from Canada.
| HTS: TerCem Blend: 2523.29.0000, free, “Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, supersulfate cement and similar hydraulic cements, whether or not colored or in the form of clinkers: Portland cement: Other.” MaxCem 90:10: 2523.90.0000, free, “Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, supersulfate cement and similar hydraulic cements, whether or not colored or in the form of clinkers: Other hydraulic cements.” |
| Item: TerCem Blend is a hydraulic cement mixture made up of 68% non-white Portland cement mixed with 22% blast furnace slag, 5% silica fume and 5% gypsum by weight. MaxCem 90:10 is a hydraulic cement mixture consisting of 90 percent granulated blast furnace slag mixed with 10 percent non-white ground Portland cement clinker, which is an accelerator. |
| Reason: As Portland cement makes up only 10% of the MaxCem 90:10, it does not provide the essential character of the mixture. |
| Ruling Date: April 14, 2021 |
N318349: The tariff classification of “Dri-Card Calcium Chloride Desiccant” from China
| HTS: 2827.20.0000, free, “Chlorides, chloride oxides and chloride hydroxides; bromides and bromide oxides; iodides and iodide oxides: Calcium chloride.” Secondary classification: 9903.88.03, 25%. |
| Item: A desiccant, which is made of calcium chloride coated pulp paper, enclosed by PET/PE film. The product is composed of pulp paper (approximately 2.5” x 2.5”), calcium chloride (CAS # 10043-52-4), and PET/PE Film. The primary function of the PET/PE film is to display safety information. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 14, 2021 |
N318867: The tariff classification of bows from Cambodia
| HTS: 4602.90.0000, 3.5%, Basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials…: Other. |
| Item: A two-pack of gift bows on a retail backer card. The “curly bows” are fashioned from plastic ribbon; the ribbon measures approximately 6 mm in width. |
| Reason: The ribbon used to form the curly bows, which is plastic strip over 5 mm in width, is a “plaiting material,” as defined by Note 1 to Chapter 46 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and by General Note (3) to the Explanatory Notes. |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |
N318734: The tariff classification of wooden nutcrackers from China
| HTS: Traditional nutcrackers: 9505.10.1500, free, “Articles for Christmas festivities and parts and accessories thereof: Christmas ornaments: Of wood.” Nurse nutcracker: 4420.10.0000, 3.2%, “Statuettes and other ornaments, of wood.” |
| Item: A traditional nutcracker depicting a soldier standing at attention, a set of five traditional nutcrackers, and a nontraditional nutcracker depicting a nurse. |
| Reason: A nurse nutcracker is not “closely associated” with Christmas and its use at other times would not be “aberrant.” |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |
N318640: The tariff classification of a textile air filter from China
| HTS: 5911.90.0080, 3.8%, “Textile products and articles, for technical uses, specified in note 7 to this chapter: Other: Other.” Secondary classification: 9817.00.96, free, “Articles specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons; parts and accessories (except parts and accessories of braces and artificial limb prosthetics) that are specially designed or adapted for use in the foregoing article: Other.” |
| Item: An air filter that is used to clean the air of particulates (dust and pollen) as it moves through the continuous positive airway pressure machine. |
| Reason: The air filter is precluded from Chapter 90 per note 1(a) to the chapter, which states that Chapter 90 does not cover “[a]rticles of a kind used in machines, appliances or for other technical uses, of … textile material (heading 5911).” The air filters are essential to the filtration function of the CPAP devices, which CBP have found qualify for duty-free treatment under subheading 9817.00.96. |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |
N318619: The tariff classification of bulk Cannabidiol Oil in solvent from Colombia
| HTS: Less than 5% CBD: 3824.99.9297, 5%, “Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” 5% or more CBD: 3824.99.2890, 6.5%, “Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Other: Mixtures containing 5 percent or more by weight of one or more aromatic or modified aromatic substances: Other: Other.” |
| Item: Hemp extracts under the US Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). The CBD Oil mixtures have been third-party laboratory tested to ensure concentrations of no more than 0.3% of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The eight different mixtures of CBD Oil in solvent have CBD content by weight varying from 0.83% to 15%. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |
N318612: The tariff classification of Konjac Noodles from China
| HTS: 1901.90.9195, 6.4%, “Food preparations of flour, groats, meal, starch or malt extract, not containing cocoa or containing less than 40 percent by weight of cocoa calculated on a totally defatted basis, not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Other.” Secondary classification: 9903.88.03, 25%. |
| Item: Konjac Noodles, composed of konjac powder, oat flour, water and calcium hydroxide, extruded into the shape of spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair and rice. |
| Reason: Heading 1901 covers a number of food preparations with a basis of flour, groats or meal, of starch or of malt extract, which derive their essential character from such materials whether or not these ingredients predominate by weight or volume. Furthermore, the terms “flour” and “meal” mean not only the cereal flour or meal of Chapter 11 but also food flour, meal and powder of vegetable origin of any Chapter. The above described product is a preparation composed of flour (powder) of vegetable origin (konjac) classifiable in Chapter 11 (specifically subheading 1106.20). |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |
N318596: The tariff classification of a woman’s top from China
| HTS: 6211.43.1091, 16%, “Track suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments: Other garments, women’s or girls’: Of man-made fibers: Other: Other.” Secondary classification: 9903.88.15, 7.5%. |
| Item: A woman’s pullover-style top constructed from 100% polyester woven fabric. The sleeveless garment features a scoop front neckline, spaghetti straps at the shoulders and a hemmed bottom. The back of the garment extends straight across from side seam to side seam, exposing the upper half of the back. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 15, 2021 |