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:
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N339699: The country of origin of LED pre-laminated inlays
| Country of Origin: Taiwan |
| Item: A light-emitting diode (LED) pre-laminated inlay. It's an assembly consisting of a PVC sheet, copper wire and LED module. These assemblies will be imported into the U.S. and assembled/incorporated into contactless payment cards. The function of this assembly is to provide a visual signal to the user by illuminating the LED when a payment has been successfully transacted. Within Taiwan, the LED semiconductor wafer is created. Then epitaxial layers of semiconductor crystals are added creating the LEDs. Next, metal contact points are added. The wafer which now contains numerous LED die is sawn into individual LED die/chips. Each die/chip is then packaged, attached to a conductive substrate using conductive adhesive and connected to the package pads using a wire bonding process. This provides electrical connectivity between the chip/die and the external contacts. Finally, the LED package is encapsulated within silicone and inspected. The completed LED package is then shipped to China. |
| Reason: The manufacturing process that takes place within Taiwan to create the LED package is both substantial and complex. |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339685: The classification and country of origin of three tables
| HTS: 9403.89.6020, free, “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of other materials, including cane, osier, bamboo or similar materials: Other: Other, Other.” |
| Country of Origin: Thailand |
| Item: (1) The Troy 48 table is a circular table with a circular pedestal. The table has a 48-inch diameter white artificial stone tabletop with gray veins and is 30 inches high. The pedestal is made of vertical wood slats, stained brown, and has a 22-inch diameter. The complete table weighs approximately 250 lbs. (2) The Alera 72 table is an oval table with an oval pedestal. The table has a 72-inch long white artificial stone tabletop with gray veins and is 30-inch high. The oval pedestal is made of vertical wood slats, stained brown, and has a 39-inch length. The complete table weighs approximately 260 lbs. (3) The Alera 86 table is an oval table with an oval pedestal. The table has an 86-inch long white artificial stone tabletop with gray veins and is 30-inch high. The oval pedestal is made of vertical wood slats, stained brown, and has a 47-inch length. The complete table weighs approximately 385 lbs. The three tabletops are manufactured in Thailand using the following sequential multistep process: slab cutting, beveling, polishing (six-12 steps), cleaning, inspecting, gluing underside and final inspecting. |
| Reason: (HTS) The stone tabletops provide these tables with their functionality and account for the majority of their weight, value, visual appeal, and utility. (Country of Origin) More than two-thirds of the material and manufacturing costs are incurred in Thailand and less than one-third of the material and manufacturing costs are incurred in China. |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339661: The tariff classification of Whoop Bands from China
| HTS: 9031.90.9195, 9903.88.01, free + 25%, “Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; profile projectors; parts and accessories thereof: Parts and accessories: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: The Whoop fitness tracker. The Whoop is a battery-operated fitness performance tracker that combines a wrist-worn device with a cloud-based analytics system. It incorporates a sensor that generates data that is to be processed through the analytics system to provide information relating to the fitness of the individual wearing the wrist-worn device. The Whoop consists of hardware, a sensor, printed circuit board assembly incorporating a radio module, and battery, which are encased in a polycarbonate housing with clasp and attached to the wristbands at issue. A memory device on the PCBA is adapted to receive and store proprietary software, which is developed by Whoop Inc. The software records and communicates the fitness data and generates the analytics. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339646: The country of origin of three mattresses incorporated into a sleeper ottoman or sofa bed
| HTS: (1), (2) 9404.21.0013, 3%, “Mattress supports; articles of bedding and similar furnishing (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered: Mattresses: Of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered, Of a width exceeding 91 cm, of a length exceeding 184 cm, and a depth exceeding 8 cm.” (3) 9404.21.0095, 3%, “Mattress supports; articles of bedding and similar furnishing (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered: Mattresses: Of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered, Other.” (4) 9401.49.0000 free, “Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds and parts thereof: Seats other than garden seats or camping equipment, convertible into beds, Other.” |
| Country of Origin: Japan |
| Item: (1) The One Step 4.75" Foam Mattress. It comes in three sizes: Queen (item #SQ), Full (item # SF) and Twin (Item # ST). It has a nonslip fabric zipper. (2) The Standard Mech Sleeper 4.5" Foam Mattress. It comes in three sizes: Queen (item #VQ), Full (item # VF), and Twin (item # VT). The outer cover is made of 270 gsm 100% polyester knit fabric. It has a non-slip fabric zipper. (3) The VO 3" Foam Mattress (item # VO) and measures 73" (L) x 3.0" (H) x 36" (W) (Twin). The outer cover is made of 260 grams per square meter 100% polyester knit fabric. It has a nonslip fabric zipper. (4) When the mattress is put into a sleeper ottoman or sleeper sofa. In Japan, the memory foam is extruded, layered, cut to size, sewn into a fireproof sock and zipped into an outer cover to produce a finished mattress. In Cambodia, the mattress is allowed to unroll and decompress, and then placed on a metal frame inside a Cambodian-origin sofa bed or a Cambodian-origin sleeper ottoman. |
| Reason: The Japanese-origin mattresses have undergone a substantial transformation in Cambodia. |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339557: The tariff classification, country of origin and AD/CVD reporting of a bathroom vanity
| HTS: 9403.60.8081, free, “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other wooden furniture: Other: Other.” |
| Country of Origin: Canada and Mexico |
| AD/CVD: The Chinese stainless-steel sink should be reported on one entry summary line, and the rest of the vanity should be reported on another. |
| Item: The 60" Vanity Single Sink bathroom vanity comprises an assembled wood cabinet base, an engineered stone countertop and one stainless-steel sink. The components are boxed separately to prevent damage during transit but are secured and shipped together on one pallet as one complete bathroom vanity, and they are sold together as one bathroom vanity. The drawn stainless-steel sink is within the scope of antidumping order A-570-983 and countervailing duty order C-570-984. Canadian wood boards used to produce the interior frame, exterior panels, drawer boxes, doors, legs, etc. are cut to size, drilled, glued, sanded, sprayed and assembled into a finished cabinet in Canada. It's subsequently boxed. The engineered stone slab is manufactured in Spain and imported into Canada. In Canada, the slab is cut to the required size, holes are cut for the sink, holes are drilled for the faucet, and the edges are smoothed and polished. It is subsequently boxed. The drawn stainless-steel sink is manufactured in China and exported to Canada. It undergoes no processing operations in Canada, and it remains boxed. The finished cabinet base is then put on the pallet with the finished stone countertop and finished stainless-steel sink in Canada and subsequently shipped. The cabinet base, countertop and sink will be assembled to create a complete bathroom vanity in the U.S. |
| Reason: (Country of Origin) The only material that fails that condition is the cabinet base because both the base and the complete unassembled vanity take the same wooden furniture classification. Therefore, the country of origin of the cabinet base -- in this case Canada -- conveys to the complete vanity. (AD/CVD) The Chinese stainless-steel sink is packaged with the cabinet base and countertop, doesn't undergo a substantial transformation and retains its identity as a Chinese sink and thus remains subject to A-570-983 and countervailing duty C-570-984. |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339292: Classification, country of origin determination, and eligibility under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of retractable canopies from Canada; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2); tariff shift
| HTS: 6307.90.9891, 7%, “Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Country of Origin: United States |
| USMCA: Eligible |
| Item: An outdoor retractable canopy designed to be attached to the underside of a pergola or gazebo and is intended to provide shade. The canopy is detached from the pergola or gazebo and stored during the winter months. The canopy is composed of 100% acrylic woven fabric and treated with a water-repellant finish. The fabric is cut, ultrasonically sealed, and attached to aluminum, horizontal wings, spaced 8 to 36 inches apart, to create the canopy assembly. The canopy assembly is attached to an aluminum track assembly by gravity clips. The track assembly is available in three different operational models: motor, manual or rope. The completed retractable canopy, in its extended position. The retractable canopy is imported with its hardware and installation instructions from Canada. |
| Reason: (Country of Origin) The fabric for the ShadeFX retractable manual and rope operated canopy was manufactured in the U.S., as per the terms of the tariff shift rule for heading 6307, the country of origin of the ShadeFX retractable manual and rope operated canopy is the U.S. (USMCA) Because the 100% acrylic woven fabric was woven in the U.S. from yarns wholly formed in the U.S. from staple fiber from Turkey, it's an originating material and does not have to meet the terms of the tariff shift. |
| Ruling Date: May 9, 2024 |
N339879: The tariff classification of a mountain bicycle from Italy
| HTS: 8712.00.3500, 11%, “Bicycles and other cycles (including delivery tricycles), not motorized: Bicycles having both wheels exceeding 63.5cm in diameter: Other.” “Bicycles … , not motorized: Bicycles having both wheels not exceeding 63.5 cm in diameter: Having both wheels not exceeding 50 cm in diameter.” |
| Item: The “Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty” mountain bicycle. The bicycle features FlexPivot kinematics and Proportional Response suspension. Both the front and rear wheel diameters measure 29 inches (73.66 cm), the cross-sectional diameter of the tire measures 2.4 inches (6.09 cm) and the weight of the bicycle without any accessories is 24.25 pounds (10.99 kg). |
| Reason: N/A |
| Date: May 10, 2024 |
N339719: The tariff classification of the FightCamp console and tracker set from Taiwan
| HTS: 9031.80.8085, free, “Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; profile projectors; parts and accessories thereof: Other instruments, appliances and machines: Other: Other.” |
| Item: The FightCamp tracker and console set. Atop the console are two tracker pods. Also shipped with the console and trackers is a 4-foot HDMI cable, a USB-a to USB-c cable, and a power supply wall-brick. The console communicates with smart devices through Bluetooth LE 5.0. The console has internet access via a Wi-Fi network or an Ethernet port. It can also be connected to a TV monitor using an HDMI port to play boxing/kickboxing instructor classes, providing both video and audio. The FightCamp application can be downloaded to a smartphone, but the trackers communicate only to the console via Bluetooth. |
| Reason: The user would purchase the FightCamp tracker and console set because of the measuring component. |
| Ruling Date: May 10, 2024 |
N339572: The tariff classification of Rice Vermicelli from Vietnam
| 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.” |
| Item: The subject merchandise is rice vermicelli composed of rice starch, water and salt. It will be packed and shipped to the U.S. in boxes with a net weight of 10.5 ounces. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 10, 2024 |
N339568: The tariff classification of a boy’s upper body garment from Bangladesh
| HTS: 6110.20.2069, 16.5%, "Sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, waistcoats (vests) and similar articles, knitted or crocheted: Of cotton: Other: Other: Other: Men’s or boys’: Other." |
| Item: A boy’s pullover constructed of 60% cotton and 40% polyester knit fabric. The garment features a large heat seal on the front, a rib-knit crew neckline, long, hemmed sleeves and a straight, hemmed bottom. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 10, 2024 |