H295445

H295445 March 27, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H295445 NAH/KF CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO: 7307.19.9080; 7308.90.9095 Center Director U.S. Customs and Border Protection Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise 2350 N. Sam Houston Pkwy E. #900 Houston, TX 77032-3100 Attn: Import Specialist Mariann Seymour Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 200617101281; B&K, LLC Dear Center Director: This is in response to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 2006-17-101281. B&K, LLC (“B&K”) protested the Port’s decision to liquidate entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8 as subject to antidumping duties, while the classification of the entered merchandise was being reviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). We have considered the arguments raised by your office and the protestant. Our decision is as follows. FACTS: Entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8 was filed on September 16, 2016, at the Port of Memphis. The entry consisted of iron pipe fittings, which B&K classified under subheading 7308.40.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The fittings were manufactured by Jinan Meide Casting Co. in the People’s Republic of China (China). The packing list included with the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) describes the merchandise within the entry as “malleable iron pipe fittings and malleable iron pipe clamp and steel pipe nipples and bronze fittings and cast iron bar grates [sic].” CBP issued a Notice of Action (“NOA”) to B&K on July 21, 2017, concerning the proper classification of the fittings. In the NOA, CBP proposed to classify the fittings under subheading 2 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA (“Annotated”). CBP determined that pursuant to this classification, the fittings were subject to an antidumping duty order (“Non-Malleable Order”). See Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings from China, 68 Fed. Reg. 16765 (Apr. 7, 2003) (Case No. A-570-875-001). CBP explained that liquidation of the entry was suspended pending further instructions from the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”). B&K challenged CBP’s re-classification of the fittings on August 10, 2017, on grounds that heading 7308, HTSUS, was proper instead of heading 7307, HTSUS. B&K acknowledged the fittings were not properly classified upon entry but asserted the appropriate classification for the fittings was subheading 7308.90.9590, HTSUSA. B&K asked for the entry to be re-liquidated accordingly, and without antidumping duties. B&K argued that because the pipes were composed of malleable iron, the order was inapplicable. A CBP officer responded to B&K by email on August 11, 2017, and requested samples to determine the proper classification of the fittings. The officer also cancelled the NOA “as it pertain[ed] to the wrong antidumping case,” stating CBP would “not seek further action” while the classification issue was being decided. The officer explained that an alternate antidumping duty order that may be applicable to the fittings was under review (“Malleable Order”). See Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Malleable Iron Pipe Fittings from China, 68 Fed. Reg. 69376 (Dec. 12, 2003) (Case No. A-570-881). B&K mailed samples of the fittings on August 24, 2017. Concurrently, B&K mailed a disclosure statement to the Office of Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures. B&K referred to the entered merchandise as “malleable cast iron structural fittings,” and reiterated that it was misclassified upon entry. B&K asked CBP to reclassify the fittings under subheading 7308.90.9590, HTSUSA. B&K provided the following description of the fittings: The structural fittings are designed for joining tubes in structural applications like greenhouses, railway guard railing, various types of railings and fences and barriers, playground equipment, machinery guards and enclosures, rooftop fall prevention systems, agricultural enclosures, temporary buildings, canopies and car ports, mezzanine floors, and water treatment works. They are not threaded. They contain tapped holes in which screws or bolts are inserted, at the time of assembly, to fix the fittings to structural tubing. The structural fittings are not designed for use in the conveyance of fluids or gases, nor are they capable of such use. They are made of malleable iron, produced to the ASTM A197 specification. They are produced and exported by Jinan Meade Casting Co., Ltd. in China. CBP liquidated the entry on October 6, 2017. Duties were assessed pursuant to the fittings’ classification under subheading 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA, and subject to the Non-Malleable Order. See Message No. 7179316 (June 28, 2017). Unaware of the entry’s liquidation, on October 13, 2017, B&K provided CBP with additional information regarding the fittings to facilitate a classification decision. B&K argued that CBP erroneously proposed to classify the fittings under subheading 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA, because the Explanatory Notes to heading 7307 expressly exclude “articles used for installing pipes and tubes…which do not form an integral part of the bore (e.g., hangers, stays and similar supports which merely fix or support the tubes and pipes on walls, clamping or 3 tightening bands or collars (hose clips) used for clamping flexible tubing or hose to rigid piping taps, connecting pieces, etc.).” B&K maintained that most of the entered fittings did not form an integral part of a tube bore, but “merely join[ed]… tubes together…[or] fit[] around a tube and allow[ed] it to be fixed to a wall or another object.” B&K concluded that heading 7308, HTSUS, was therefore more appropriate for fittings, as it included “parts of structures…of iron or steel…shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures.” Examples of the “typical application” for such fittings, pursuant to the product catalog provided by B&K, are handrails, fencing, playground equipment, guardrailing, racks, enclosures, temporary buildings, fall prevention systems, safety barriers, and platforms. The installation process for these applications is described as: “[n]o welding, so no hot permits required[, and, n]o threading or bolting, so no special tools required.” Upon learning of the entry’s liquidation, on October 19, 2017, B&K contacted CBP to contend that liquidation was improper while the fittings’ classification remained in dispute. CBP instructed B&K to file the present protest on October 24, 2017. B&K complied with CBP’s instruction on November 7, 2017. For purposes of facilitating a protest decision, on February 21, 2018, B&K provided CBP with a DVD and product list describing every model of fitting within entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8. B&K also provided CBP with a sample of every model. The models at issue are: • Item number 670-106HC, o o which is a single socket tee with the top section’s length approximately the same size as the diameter of the lower section and screw holes in the center of the top section and bottom of the lower section; • Item number 670-406HC, o o which is a three socket tee with all three ends being approximately the same size and screw holes on each end; • Item numbers 671-604HC and 671-606HC, 4 o o which are 90-degree side outlet tees that allow a tube or pipe to pass through the center column and two outlets on the side with a screw hole on each outlet; • Item number 671-906HC, o o which is a two socket cross with a straight coupling bisected by an opening that allows a tube to pass through the center perpendicular to two outlets with screw holes on the outlet ends; • Item number 672-506HC, o o which is a 90-degree elbow with screw holes on the two ends; • Item number 672-804HC, o o which is a side outlet elbow with an opening on the bottom of the traditional 90-degree elbow shape and a screw hole at each opening; • Item number 673-804HC, o o which is a gate eye with a large ring and single screw hole attached to a smaller ring and openings running parallel; 5 • Item number 674-306HC, o o which is a rail support with ring and single screw

As an initial matter, we find that pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3)(A), this protest was timely filed on November 7, 2017, within 180 days after the October 6, 2017, liquidation date for the subject entry. Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(b), this protest meets the criteria for further review because it involves questions of law or fact which have not previously been ruled upon. I. What is the proper tariff classification for the entered fittings? Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation(“AUSRIs”). The GRIs and the AUSRIs are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5. Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1 provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 1- In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires— . . . (c) a provision for parts of an article covers products solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for “parts” or “parts and accessories” shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory; The 2017 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 7307 Tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves), of iron or stee