Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for Aug. 26
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Aug. 26 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H312437: USMCA Eligibility; Stator Assembly; Country of Origin; Marking; 19 U.S.C. § 1304; Trade Remedy Section 301 Duties
| Ruling: The stator assembly should be marked as a product of the U.S., and qualifies for USMCA treatment. It is not subject to Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. |
| Issue: Whether the stator is of Chinese origin and subject to Section 301 duties; whether the stator assembly qualifies for USMCA |
| Item: A finished stator assembly consisting of an elaborate electric stator stack and other materials that originate in the USMCA territory with one exception. Near the end of the assembly process, a Chinese-origin metal housing is installed on the stator assembly to provide protection to the electric stator. The housing is a simple external component that only serves as support and to protect the mechanism and its internal components. |
| Reason: The housing assembly only holds together and protects the functioning components of the stator assembly, and is not a significant enough component of the finished stator assembly which would control its country of origin. Rather, the U.S. origin Parker stator stack is the dominant component of the stator assembly because it contributes to the main function of the finished stator assembly by providing the magnetic field that drives a rotor, allowing the electric motor in which it will be installed to function as intended. The stator assembly means USMCA regional value content rules. |
| Ruling Date: Aug. 25, 2021 |
H290897: Request for a ruling concerning the drawback eligibility of machine tools under the unused merchandise provisions of 19 U.S.C. § 1313(j)
| Ruling: The combination of packaging, lubricating, testing, repairing, adjusting, patching, and calibrating performed on the imported machine tools is not a manufacture or production for duty drawback and the machine tools could be eligible for unused merchandise drawback pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1313(j), if all statutory and regulatory requirements are met. |
| Issue: Whether unpacking, repacking, oiling, testing, software patches, adjusting electrical voltage, and calibration operations performed on its machine tools constitute a manufacture or production for purposes of unused merchandise duty drawback pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1313(j) |
| Item: Machine tools imported into the United States that, upon importation, undergo several operations, including unpacking, repacking, oiling, testing, software patches, adjusting electrical voltage, and calibration operations, prior to their exportation. Occasionally, operational software updates or "patches" are also uploaded onto the CNC (computer numerical controlled) machines. |
| Reason: Repairs and adjustments are specifically excepted by 19 U.S.C. § 1313(j)(3). Furthermore, the combination of packaging, lubricating, testing, patching, repairing, adjusting, and calibrating does not make the machine tools fit for a particular use. |
| Ruling Date: July 28, 2021 |