Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings April 5
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 5 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):
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H334088: USMCA Eligibility of Lubrigel L; Country of Origin Marking
| Ruling: (1) Lubrigel L is classified under subheading 3824.99.4900, which provides for: “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 that are in whole or in part of hydrocarbons derived in whole or in part from petroleum, shale oil or natural gas.” (2) Lubrigel L is eligible for preferential tariff treatment under USMCA. Country of origin for marking purposes is Canada. |
| Issue: (1) Is Lubrigel L eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when it is imported from Canada into the U.S.? (2) What is the country of origin of Lubrigel L for marking purpose? |
| Item: Lubrigel L is a complexed polysaccharide gel forming polymer with rheological and viscoelastic properties. It exhibits both viscous and elastic properties. Lubrigel L is imported in a liquid form in pails that are palletized and shrink wrapped. It may be used in conventional drilling operation, workover operations, and certain completion operations. The process of making Lubrigel L occurs entirely within Canada. |
| Reason: (1) To produce Lubrigel L, non-originating materials including Xanthan Gum, Guar, and Parasur are blended together in measured quantities. The process by which the input materials are combined to create the final good meets the criteria for “deliberate and proportionally controlled mixing or blending.” A different product, classifiable under 3824.99.4900, emerges, indicating a tariff shift has occurred. (2) None of the originating or non-originating inputs of Lubrigel L would cross the 60% threshold listed in the provision. Accordingly, since Lubrigel L undergoes the applicable tariff shift, the country of origin of Lubrigel L for marking purposes is Canada. |
| Ruling Date: March 29, 2024 |