H316194

HQ H316194 June 24, 2021 OT:RR:CTF:VS H316194 RMC CATEGORY: Classification Misty Gibbins Pacific Customs Brokers Inc. 1400 A St. Blaine, WA 98230 RE: USMCA Eligibility of Sway Bar End Link Kit Dear Ms. Gibbins: This is in response to your correspondence dated November 12, 2020, in which you request a ruling on behalf of BD Engine Brake Inc. Your request concerns the tariff classification of a “sway bar end link kit,” and the eligibility of that product for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). Your request, submitted as an electronic ruling request, was forwarded to this office from the National Commodity Specialist Division for response. FACTS: The merchandise is described as a sway bar end link kit for model year 2000-2012 Dodge Ram 2500/3500 pickup trucks. A sway bar end link is a part that attaches to the vehicle’s control arm and the sway bar, which are both part of the suspension system. According to the information provided, the kit is designed to replace a truck’s original equipment, which is prone to failure. Compared to the original equipment, the aftermarket kit produced by BD Engine Brake Inc. incorporates an additional pivot point, which is claimed to help prevent the link from failing. Assembly of the sway bar end link kit will occur at BD Engine Brake’s facilities in Canada using both originating and non-originating materials. Your submission includes photographs of the merchandise in its condition as imported and photographs of all materials used in production. Your submission also includes the following information from the bill of materials: Description Quantity Classification Originating Status Value of Material  Connector Rods 2 8708.80.9900 Non-originating $[ ]  Bushing Kit 1 8708.29.5060 Originating $[ ]  U-Bracket Assemblies 2 8302.30.3060 Originating $[ ]  Hardware Kit 1 7318.15.2000 Non-originating $[ ]  Decal 1 4821.10 Originating $[ ]  Box 1 4819.20.0040 Originating $[ ]  Packaging 1 N/A Originating $[ ]  Picking 1 N/A Originating $[ ]   You opine that the merchandise may be classified either in heading 8302, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) or in heading 8708, HTSUS. You also ask us to determine, based on the information provided, whether the merchandise is eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA. ISSUES: Whether the merchandise is properly classified in heading 8302, HTSUS, or heading 8708, HTSUS. Whether the merchandise is eligible for USMCA preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA when it is imported from Canada into the United States. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined 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 headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied. The tariff provisions at issue are the following: 8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof: * * * * * 8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 * * * * * When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The ENs to heading 83.02 state, in pertinent part, the following: This heading covers general purpose classes of base metal accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on furniture, doors, windows, coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs. Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles (e.g., motor cars, lorries or motor coaches), not being parts or accessories of Section XVII. For example : made up ornamental beading strips; foot rests; grip bars, rails and handles; fittings for blinds (rods, brackets, fastening fittings, spring mechanisms, etc.); interior luggage racks; window opening mechanisms; specialised ash trays; tailboard fastening fittings. The ENs to heading 87.08 state, in pertinent part, the following: Parts and accessories of this heading include: Assembled motor vehicle chassisframes (whether or not fitted with wheels but without engines) and parts thereof (sidemembers, braces, crossmembers; suspension mountings; supports and brackets for the coachwork, engine, runningboards, battery or fuel tanks, etc.). You state that the merchandise may be properly classified in heading 8302, HTSUS, which provides, in part, for brackets, mountings, and fittings of base metals suitable for vehicle coachwork. Here, however, the merchandise is not used to attach anything to a vehicle coachwork. As a result, this article does not meet the terms of heading 8302, HTSUS. Furthermore, the merchandise operates as a supporting mechanism for an automobile’s suspension system. The EN to heading 8302 makes no mention of any parts related to an automobile’s suspension system. In contrast, the EN to heading 87.08 does specifically mention parts pertaining to an automobile’s suspension mountings. For these reasons, the merchandise is properly classified in heading 8708, which provides for “[p]arts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705.” Specifically, the merchandise is classified in 8708.80.6590, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (“HTSUSA”), which provides for “[p]arts and accessories of the motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705: Suspension systems and parts thereof (including shock absorbers): Parts: Other: Other: Other.” Eligibility for USMCA Preferential Tariff Treatment The USMCA was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30, 2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the USMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note (“GN”) 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(a) provides that: Goods originating in the territory of a country named herein, pursuant to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), are subject to duty as provided herein, including any treatment set forth in subchapter XXIII of chapter 98 and subchapter XXII of chapter 99 of the tariff schedule. For the purposes of this note, as provided in the tariff schedule— Goods that originate in the territory of Mexico, Canada or the United States (hereinafter referred to as “USMCA country” or “USMCA countries” as further defined in subdivision (l)(xxiv) of this note) under the terms of subdivision (b) of this note and regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury (including Uniform Regulations provided for in the USMCA), and goods enumerated in subdivision (p) of this note, when such goods are imported into the customs territoryof [sic] the United States and are entered under a subheading for which a rate of duty appears in the “Special” subcolumn, followed by th

ClassificationClassification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined 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 headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.The tariff provisions at issue are the following:8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof: * * * * * 8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705* * * * *When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).The ENs to heading 83.02 state, in pertinent part, the following:This heading covers general purpose classes of base metal accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on furniture, doors, windows, coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs.Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable fo