Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings on March 9

March 10, 2023 by Ben Perkins|Customs Rulings

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 9 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):

H325879: United States Mexico Canada Agreement; Fiber Glass Cloth

Ruling: (1) The glasscloth is classified in heading 7016, and specifically in subheading 7019.69.40.21, which provides for “Mechanically bonded: Other not colored: Other: Weighing more than 215 grams per square meter, with a filament diameter of 7 to 13 microns” or 7019.69.40.96, HTSUS, which provides for “Mechanically bonded: Other: Not colored: Other: Other.” (2) The fiberglass fiber is not eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when imported from Canada into the United States.

Issues: (1) What is the tariff classification of the glasscloth? (2) Whether the fiberglass cloth is eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when it is imported from Canada into the U.S.

Item: “Glasscloth,” used for molten aluminum filtration. The primary function is to remove impurities from aluminum to improve cast quality. Pyrotek Canada imports Latvian fiberglass yarn into Canada. Pyrotek states that the raw material of the yarn is alkali free alumina borosilicate E-glass with a maximum alkali content of 1.0%. The yarn usually consists of 400-1,600 whole glass fiber threads with a filament diameter of 6, 9, 11, or 13 microns and does not consist of any polymers. The yarn is also less than 136 tex. In Canada, the yarn is placed on spools then woven into an open fiberglass fabric on industrial looms. The woven fiberglass fabric is cut to size, at least 30 cm wide, and then imported into the U.S. Pyrotek states that the weight of the glasscloth as imported into the United States is greater than 250 grams/square meter.

Reason: (1) The glasscloth is woven into an open cloth on industrial looms so it qualifies as a woven fabric under either subheading 7019.66 or 7019.69 depending on its weight. Because it is also not colored and weighs more than 250 grams per square meter, it is classified by application of GRI 1 under 7019.69.40.21, when the filament used is either 9, 11, or 13 microns thick.

Ruling Date: Feb. 22, 2023

H328865: Coastwise Transportation; Outer Continental Shelf; Wind Turbines; 46 U.S.C. §§ 55102 and 55103; 19 CFR §§ 4.80a and 4.80b; 43 U.S.C. § 1333.

Ruling: (1) The transportation of the subject WTG components would not be in violation of the Jones Act. (2) The installation of the WTG units would not be in violation of the Jones Act. (3) The transportation of containers, installation tools, and materials between WTG sites would not be in violation of the Jones Act. (4) The transportation of the installation crew onboard the vessel between WTG installation sites attached to the seabed of the OCS would not be in violation of the Jones Act.

Issues: (1) Whether the transportation of the WTG components by a coastwise-qualified tug and barge from a U.S. port to an anchored, non-coastwise-qualified Jack Up Vessel located on the U.S OCS violates the Jones Act? (2) Whether the installation of the subject wind turbine generators by the non-coastwise-qualified Jack Up Vessel on the OCS violates the Jones Act? (3) Whether transportation of certain containers, tools, and materials between coastwise points by the non-coastwise-qualified Jack Up Vessel violates the Jones Act? (4) Whether the transportation of the installation crew between coastwise points by the non-coastwise-qualified Jack Up Vessel violates the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

Item: N/A

Reason: The transportation between coastwise points would be effected by coastwise-qualified vessels. The foreign-flagged Jack Up vessel would remain completely stationary during the installation process. Containers, installation tools, and materials are not "merchandise" in this context. Crew are directly and substantially related to the operation of the vessel.

Ruling Date: Feb. 14, 2023

H293671: Application for Further Review Protest No. 5501-17-100504; Tariff classification of Certain Steel Parts

Ruling: The tubing head adapter body, tee body and cross body, casing head/casing spool, housing, and packoff body are properly classified under subheading 7326.90.86 as “Other articles of iron or steel: Other: Other ...”

Issue: Are the tubing head adapter body, tee body and cross body, casing head/casing spool, housing, and packoff body, as described above, properly classified under heading 7326, which provides for “Other articles of iron or steel”, or under heading 8481, HTSUS, as parts of valves, or, alternatively, heading 8431, as parts of boring machinery?

Items: Distinct parts of Wellhead and “Christmas Tree” assemblies for an oil rig. They consist of a tubing head adapter body, tee body and cross body, a casing head/casing spool, a housing and a packoff body. The casing head/casing spool holds pressure in the wellhead. The tubing head adapter body is an attachment between the wellhead and the Christmas tree that serves as a fluid conduit. The housing is an attachment between the wellhead and Christmas tree. The packoff body is used between the wellhead and a string of tubing. The packoff body is started by the protestant to be necessary to contain high and potentially dangerous gas pressure that may be present in the wellhead or Christmas tree, but it is not part of the Christmas tree. The wellhead is installed on the oil well “during the initial drilling process” and is a suspension point and pressure seal at the top of the well.

Reason: The items, as imported, do not perform, nor are they integral to, the function of opening or closing an aperture and therefore are not parts of valves classifiable under heading 8481. Despite their stated intended use in conjunction with various components that are themselves associated with boring or sinking, these articles do not perform, nor are they integral to, the function of boring or sinking and are not classifiable as parts of boring or sinking machinery of heading 8431. Rather, they generally serve secondary functions as conduits or adapters between components that do perform the functions integral to boring or sinking.

Ruling Date: Jan. 6, 2023