Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
N339912: The tariff classification of a “Giant Ocean Origami” kit from China
| HTS: 4811.90.8050, 9903.88.03, free + 25%, “Paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs of cellulose fibers, coated, impregnated, covered, surface-colored, surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets, of any size, other than goods of the kind described in heading 4803, 4809 or 4810: Other paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs of cellulose fibers: In strips or rolls of a width exceeding 15 cm or in rectangular (including square) sheets with one side exceeding 36 cm and the other side exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state: Other: Other: Other: Weighing over 30g/m2: Other.” |
| Item: The “Create Your Own Giant Ocean Origami kit includes six machine-made, printed (on both sides) sheets of paper. The kit includes several pages of instructions to guide the user to fold each paper sheet into one of six sea animals, such as whale, crab, or seahorse. The paper is printed such that, when folded, the origami pieces will be appropriately colored in multiple shades, like the sea animals. The kit also includes a single sheet of paper printed with ocean theme activities. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339911: The tariff classification of a “Magical Unicorn Friend” kit from China
| HTS: 4823.90.6700, 9903.88.03, free + 25%, "Other paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs of cellulose fibers, cut to size or shape; other articles of paper pulp, paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding or webs of cellulose fibers: Other: Other: Other: Of coated paper or paperboard: Other." |
| Item: “Make Your Own Magical Unicorn Friend” is a kit with several die-cut, printed, coated paperboard pieces. The pieces are scored and cut with slots and tabs. The package includes a related printed sheet of activities, as well as an instruction sheet. The paperboard pieces are folded and assembled according to the instructions to form a three-dimensional unicorn head. The back of the head has a hole to accommodate a nail or hook, allowing the head to be hung on a wall. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339814: The tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of drawer dividers from Canada
| HTS: 4420.90.8000, 3.2%, “wooden articles of furniture not falling within chapter 94.” |
| Country of Origin: Canada |
| USMCA: Eligible |
| Item: A drawer divider kit consisting of a wood board of medium density fiberboard (MDF) and two plastic end brackets for securing the divider inside a drawer. The MDF board acts as the main divider. The board is covered in faux leather plastic sheeting for a decorative effect. MDF board is manufactured in Canada of North American wood pulp and cut to size. Still in Canada, it is then wrapped and glued with China-origin faux leather plastic sheeting that has been cut to size in Canada. The plastic end brackets are injection-molded in Canada using U.S. plastic (nylon) and a Canada-made mold. Finally, in Canada, the components are packaged together in a plastic bag and labeled for sale to the public. |
| Reason: (Country of Origin) The faux leather plastic sheeting undergoes a change to heading 4420 when it is assembled onto the divider board in Canada. (USMCA) The plastic sheeting from China is sent to Canada where it is cut and glued onto the boards of Canada origin and packaged with plastic brackets of Canada origin. The plastic sheeting undergoes the required tariff shift. |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339786: The tariff classification of a walker cover from China or Taiwan
| HTS: 9021.10.0090, free, "Orthopedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts; splints and other fracture appliances …Orthopedic and fracture appliances, and parts and accessories thereof: Other.” 9817.00.96, free, "Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Christmas ornaments: Other: Other.” (Secondary Classification) 9817.00.96, free of duty and the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF), “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: Jover Wrap walker cover is a one-piece, pink fabric cover made of 100% woven polyester. It is designed to be attached to a mobility walker using three hook-and-loop fasteners. It includes four, unlined, open pockets, two sewn on the inside of the cover and another two on the outside. The cover is specifically tailored to fit traditional metal folding walker models and provides individuality to the user’s walker and portability of small personal effects while the walker is in use. |
| Reason: (Secondary) In NY ruling N212804, dated April 25, 2012, Customs determined that the walker banner designed specifically for use as an accessory for walkers qualified for duty-free treatment under subheading 9817.00.96. The Jover walker cover is akin to the walker banner and specifically designed for the mobility walker. |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339749: The tariff classification and country of origin of Chargrilled Chicken Skewers
| HTS: 1602.32.0040, 6.4%, “Other prepared or preserved meat, meat offal, blood or insects: Of chicken: Prepared meals: Other.” |
| Country of Origin: United States |
| Item: Chargrilled Chicken Skewers. The product comprises chicken, water, cassava starch, xylose, ginger, tripolyphosphate, salt, garlic and caramel color. The chicken is slaughtered and cut up in the United States then exported frozen to China where it is prepared with the stated ingredients. The chicken is pre-dusted, skewered, steamed, sauced, chargrilled then individually quick frozen (IQF) and packed ten pieces per bag. |
| Reason: (Country of Origin) The article is not substantially transformed by the processing that occurred in China. |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339713: The tariff classification of Rufinamide Oral Suspension in dosage form, from India
| HTS: 3004.90.9236, free, “Medicaments … consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses … or in forms or packings for retail sale: Other: Other: Other: Medicaments primarily affecting the central nervous system: Anticonvulsants, hypnotics and sedatives.” |
| Item: Rufinamide Oral Suspension is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. It is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome in pediatric patients 1 year of age and older and in adults. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 22, 2024 |
N339704: The tariff classification of a room spray, reed diffuser, and candle from Turkey
| HTS: (1), (3) 3307.49.0000, 6%, “Preparations for perfuming or deodorizing rooms, including odoriferous preparations used during religious rites: Other.” (2) 3406.00.0000, free, “Candles, tapers and the like.” |
| Item: (1) A room spray. The ingredients are aroma, aqua, ethyl alcohol, perfume, alpha-isomethyl ionone, benzyl salicylate, and linalool. It comes in a dark green bottle with the words “Aroma Natural” inscribed in the front. It provides a pleasant odor to living areas such as the home and office. (2) A poured wax candle. The candle is made from natural soy wax infused with fragrance oils and features a cotton wick. It comes in a dark green, tapered glass jar with a wood lid. Both the wax and wick are sourced from Turkey. (3) A reed diffuser. This item consists of a small, frosted glass bottle containing fragrance oil with reed sticks (diffuser sticks). The words “Aroma Natural” are inscribed in the front of the bottle. The reed sticks absorb the scented oil from the container and release the fragrance into the air. The glass bottle, the fragrance oil and the diffuser sticks are packaged together for retail sale. (4) Fragrance oil. This item will be used with air diffuser machines for ambient scenting. |
| Reason: (4) Since you were unable to provide a complete component breakdown, we cannot provide a ruling for this product at this time. Once you are able to obtain this information, you may submit a new request. |
| Date: May 22, 2024 |
N340107: The country of origin of medical cable assemblies
| Country of Origin: United States |
| Item: The medical cables are identical in composition and are comprised of a length of insulated conductor with specifically designed connectors on each end. The cables are designed for use only with the Stryker 1688 AIM Endoscopic Surgery Platform and will not be used for any other purpose. The cables will transmit video and data signals from the endoscopic camera to the unit in order for the doctor to be able to view the images during surgery. The manufacturing process begins in the United States where the bulk, insulated conductor cable wire is manufactured and placed on reels for export to China. In China, the raw cable is cut to the desired length and the ends are prepped for the addition of the connectors. The connectors are then wired to and assembled on both ends before a final thin coating is applied and the finished cables are tested and packaged for shipment to the US. |
| Reason: The U.S. originating cable conductor imparts the character of the finished cables as it is the fully functional primary component of the finished article. The addition of the connectors in China does not substantially transform the cable. |
| Ruling Date: May 23, 2024 |
N340050: The tariff classification of an automatic powder coating line from Turkey
| HTS: (1), (3), (6) 8424.89.9000, 1.8%, "Mechanical appliances (whether or not hand operated) for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders; fire extinguishers, whether or not charged; spray guns and similar appliances; steam or sand blasting machines and similar jet projecting machines; parts thereof: Other appliances: Other." (2) 8419.39.0280, free, “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514), for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting, distilling, rectifying, sterilizing, pasteurizing, steaming, drying, evaporating, vaporizing, condensing or cooling, other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes; instantaneous or storage water heaters, nonelectric; parts thereof: Dryers: Other: Other.” (4) 8417.80.0000, 3.9%, “Industrial or laboratory furnaces and ovens, including incinerators, nonelectric, and parts thereof: Other, except parts.” (5) 8428.39.0000, free, “Other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, elevators, escalators, conveyors, teleferics): Other continuous-action elevators and conveyors, for goods or materials: Other.” |
| Item: (1) The pre-treatment system consists of stainless-steel tanks, water circulation pumps, heated tanks, and a stainless-steel tunnel, which is equipped with spray nozzles and a cascading water system. The purpose of the pre-treatment system is to clean and treat metal parts while they are conveyed through the tunnel. Using jet sprayers, each metal part is sprayed with a cleaning liquid to provide a conversion coating and then rinsed by cascading water. (2) The drying tunnel oven utilizes convection heating to dry and remove any remaining water content from the metal parts after they leave the pre-treatment system. The tunnel is constructed of metal panels lined with rock wool and equipped with a burner and circulating fan that raises the temperature of the tunnel up to 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit). (3) The powder coating booth is an enclosure that uses electrostatic technology and automatic detecting spray guns to apply powder to a metal part. A low voltage is supplied to the spray guns, which charges the powder as it is discharged from the gun, causing the powder to adhere to the metal parts. The booth consists of a PVC booth that is equipped with exhaust and filter systems, powder transfer systems, spray guns, a 3D coating set, and a control module. (4) The curing oven is described as a U-turn natural gas oven that consists of a chamber enclosed by panels made of insulated rock wool sandwiched by galvanized metal sheets. The oven operates based on convection heating and is equipped with a natural gas heating unit capable of raising the internal temperature of the chamber up to 250 degrees Celsius. The oven is used to cure the newly applied powder coating by converting the dry powder into a gel, which becomes the finished coating. (5) The conveyor system is described as an overhead webb chain conveyor that transports metal parts throughout the entire automatic powder coating line. The conveyor uses a drive unit to move suspended materials along webb-type chains equipped with trolleys that are spaced 613 millimeters apart along the chain, each having a 240-kilogram capacity. The conveyor transports parts through the pre-treatment system, drying oven, powder coating booth, and curing oven. (6) All five of the items are used to make an automatic powder coating line. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 23, 2024 |
N339969: The tariff classification, country of origin for marking purposes, and status under the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) of a freestanding retractable canopy
| HTS: 7610.90.0080, 5.7%, "aluminum structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, balustrades, pillars and columns); aluminum plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures: other: other: other." |
| Country of Origin: Eligible |
| USMCA: Canada |
| Item: The ShadeFX Freestanding Retractable Canopy. This outdoor manually operated retractable canopy is designed to provide shade and is permanently attached to a patio, porch or deck. This canopy is mainly composed of a retractable fabric canopy, two post legs, two post arms, post skirts, two bases, two base covers, a TSB (track supporting beam), a drive beam (track), wings, and flat stock that are all made from aluminum, a flat gimp made of plastic, a manually operated handle, and hardware to mount the canopy to concrete or wood. The components that make up the canopy are sourced from various countries including the United States (U.S.), Turkey, Canada, China, Germany, Taiwan, etc. Fabric of U.S. origin is exported to Canada where it is cut, sewn, and attached to a two-legged structure. The posts, drive track, flat stock, and wings are produced from aluminum billets of Turkish origin that are shipped to and extruded in Canada. Other manufacturing operations performed on the aluminum components in Canada include cutting, tapping holes, welding (base plates to posts), painting, etc. After the work is completed in Canada, the canopy is packaged and then shipped to the U.S. |
| Reason: (USMCA) All the non-originating materials/components (i.e., canopy, aluminum billets, manual handle, etc.) meet the required tariff shift. (Country of Origin) The aluminum billets, canopy, manual handle, and all other non-originating components/materials meet the tariff shift requirement in the rule of origin cited above. |
| Ruling Date: May 23, 2024 |