H327731

H327731 June 9, 2025 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H327731 SKK/JRG CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 7219.90.00 Center Director Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise U.S. Customs and Border Protection 610 S. Canal St. 3rd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60607 Attn: Jason Hayslett, Import Specialist; Jospeh Fischer, Supervisory Import Specialist Re: Protest No. 4601-22-131915; Classification of lamination press plates Dear Center Director: This is our decision regarding an Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 4601-22-131915, filed on behalf of Cardel Ltd. (“Cardel” or “Protestant”). The Protest and AFR concern the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of lamination press plates and their country of origin. The AFR was forwarded to this office for consideration. No samples were provided for examination. FACTS: The subject merchandise is described as a lamination press plate used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) smart cards, credit cards, and similar items. In their condition as imported, the finished plates are ready for installation in a lamination machine (“Platen Lamination Equipment”) that produces the plastic cards. The subject lamination press plates are made of stainless steel with a size tolerance of +/- 0.5 millimeters (“mm”) and a thickness of 0.5 mm, 0.8 mm, or 1.0 mm. The lamination press plates have been cut to the shape and size specified by the customer (615 mm x 459 mm x 0.8 mm as indicated by the submitted purchase order and invoice), edge finished, and precision surface treated to ensure the desired finish (i.e., gloss, silk, matt). The lamination press plates are made for specific machines and are not interchangeable among different machines. In use, eleven lamination press plates are loaded into a “cassette” with 10 sets of PVC sheets inserted between the plates. The loaded cassettes are placed in the lamination press that heats the cassette under pressure for approximately 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. The cassette remains under pressure for an additional 20 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. After the compression, the cassettes are removed, the plates separated, and the plastic sheets removed. Each plate can be used between 4,000 and 6,000 cycles before being replaced. The lamination press plates are manufactured from cold rolled stainless steel sheets of Taiwanese origin. Upon importation to the United Kingdom (U.K.), the steel sheets are inspected before being coated with a protective material. The sheets are either laser cut to produce hard plates, or shear cut to create standard plates. Both the hard and standard plates are subsequently deburred and cornered. If gloss plates are being manufactured, the plates undergo polishing. If silk/matte plates are being produced, the plates enter peening machines. After polishing or peening, the plates are inspected then packaged for shipment. The subject articles were liquidated on March 4, 2022, under heading 7219, specifically subheading 7219.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for “[F]lat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more: Other” and were subject to duties imposed by heading 9903, HTSUS, specifically subheading 9903.80.01, HTSUS, which provides for “[p]roducts of iron or steel provided for in the tariff headings or subheadings enumerated in note 16 to this subchapter, except products of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, of Turkey or any exclusions that may be determined and announced by the Department of Commerce” and which applies an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty to the column one general rate of duty in the applicable subheading. The country of origin of the subject merchandise was determined to be Taiwan. ISSUES: What is the proper classification of the subject merchandise under the HTSUS? What is the country of origin of the steel plates for purposes of application of the 2021 Section 232 duties for goods under subheading 9903.80.01, HTSUS? LAW AND ANALYSIS: A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable matter under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2). The subject Protest was timely filed on August 31, 2022, within 180 days of liquidation, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3). Further Review of Protest No. 4601-22-131915 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR § 174.24(a), as the Protestant has alleged that the decision against which the Protest was filed is inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. 2 Classification Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 will then be applied in order. The following 2021 provisions of the HTSUS are under consideration: 7219 Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more: 8477 Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Note 1(f) to Section XV provides that this section does not cover “[A]rticles of section XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods).” Note 2(b) to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides: 2. Subject to note 1 to this section, note 1 to chapter 84 and to note 1 to chapter 85, parts of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544, 8545, 8546 or 8547) are to be classified according to the following rules: * * * (b) Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, or with a number of machines of the same heading (including a machine of heading 8479 or 8543) are to be classified with the machines of that kind or in heading 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8503, 8522, 8529 or 8538 as appropriate. However, parts which are equally suitable for use principally with the goods of headings 8517 and 8525 to 8528 are to be classified in heading 8517. Protestant submits that the subject articles are properly classified under heading 8477, specifically subheading 8477.90.25, HTSUS, which provides for “[M]achinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Parts: Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Parts.” In this regard, Protestant asserts that the plates are sized, shaped, and manufactured for use in particular “Platen Lamination Equipment,” and are therefore “parts” of machines of heading 8477, HTSUS, as they are not interchangeable for use in other machines. The term “part” is not defined in the HTSUS. However, the courts have developed two distinct but not inconsistent tests for determining whether a particular item qualifies as a “part” for tariff classification purposes. Under the test initially promulgated in United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, Inc., 21 C.C.P.A. 322, 324 (1933), an imported item qualifies as a part only if it can be described as an “integral, constituent, or component part, without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article.” Bauerhin Techs. Ltd. Pshp. v. United States, 110 F.3d 774, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1997). In United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9, 3 14 (1955), the court determined that a good is a “part” for tariff purposes if it is “dedicated solely for use” with a particular article and is not a separate and distinct commercial entity. The Bauerhin 

A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable matter under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2). The subject Protest was timely filed on August 31, 2022, within 180 days of liquidation, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3). Further Review of Protest No. 4601-22-131915 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR § 174.24(a), as the Protestant has alleged that the decision against which the Protest was filed is inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. 2 

 Classification Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 will then be applied in order. The following 2021 provisions of the HTSUS are under consideration: 7219 Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more: 8477 Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Note 1(f) to Section XV provides that this section does not cover “[A]rticles of section XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods).” Note 2(b) to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides: 2. Subject to note 1 to this section, note 1 to chapter 84 and to note 1 to chapter 85, parts of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544, 8545, 8546 or 8547) are to be classified according to the following rules: * * * (b) Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, or with a number of machines of the same