H360106

HQ H360106 September 3, 2026 OT:RR:BSTC:CCR H360106 CBC CATEGORY: Carriers Harman Int’l Indus., Inc. ATTN: Rachel Hall 30001 Cabot Dr Novi, MI 48377 VIA EMAIL: Rachell.Hall@harman.com RE: Instruments of International Traffic; 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a); 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a; Harman Int’l Indus., Inc.; Steel Rack Containers, Metal Pallets Dear Ms. Hall: This is in response to your April 16, 2026, request for a ruling pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 177.2, on behalf of Harman International Industries, Inc., (“Harman”), that certain steel shipping racks qualify for treatment as Instruments of International Traffic (“IIT”), properly classified un- der subheading 9803.00.50 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). FACTS: The following facts are taken from your ruling request and supplements thereto. The subject items are described as “steel rack containers” and “metal pallets.” They are used to transport goods between Mexico and the United States. They are intended for repeated use, ex- clusively for international transportation, and remain owned by HARMAN/BECKER AUTO- MOTIVE throughout their five-year lifespan. They have dimensions of 48 x 45 x 53 inches. More than 66,668 are accounted for in current use. The request includes three separate descrip- tions with different internal packing, having part numbers, 4130575, 4168013, and 9100458701A, pictured below: 4130575 4168013 9100458701A ISSUE: Whether the subject steel shipping racks qualify for consideration as instruments of inter- national traffic within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a)(1). LAW AND ANALYSIS: Instruments of International Traffic “All merchandise imported into the United States is required to be entered, unless specifi- cally excepted.” 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(a); see 19 U.S.C. § 1484(c) (“The Customs Service may per- mit the entry and release of merchandise from customs custody in accordance with such regula- 1 The four exceptions to the requirement of entry are tions as the Secretary may prescribe.”). listed under 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(b), one of which is instruments of international traffic. See 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(b)(3). Subheading 9803.00.50, HTSUS, provides for the duty-free treatment of: Substantial containers and holders, if products of the United States (including shooks and staves of United States production when re- turned as boxes or barrels containing merchandise), or if of foreign production and previously imported and duty (if any) thereon paid, or if of a class specified by the Secretary of the Treasury as instru- ments of international traffic, repair components for containers of foreign production which are instruments of international traffic, and accessories and equipment for such containers, whether the ac- cessories and equipment are imported with a container to be 1 Customs revenue functions have been delegated to the Secretary of Homeland Security by the Secretary of Treas- ury, with exceptions herein not applicable, under the authority of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107- 296, §§ 401–19, 116 Stat. 2135, 2177–82; see Treas. Dep’t Order 100-16 (May 15, 2003). 2 reexported separately or with another container, or imported sepa- rately to be reexported with a container. (Emphasis added). Subchapter 98 of the HTSUS only applies to: 1. This subchapter covers only the following: (a) Substantial containers or holders which are subject to tariff treatment as imported articles and are: (i) Imported empty and not within the purview of a provision which specifically exempts them from duty; or (ii) Imported containing or holding articles, and which are not of a kind normally sold therewith or are entered separately therefrom; and (b) Certain repair components, accessories and equipment. U.S. Note 1 et seq., Subchapter 98-III, HTSUS. Section 322(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, added by the Customs Simplification Act of 1953, codified the “customary exemptions from the application of the customs laws” for “instru- ments of international traffic to such extent and subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed in regulations or instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury.” Pub. L. No. 243-397, 2 § 14, 67 Stat. 507, 516; see 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a). “These ‘customary’ exemptions had an estab- lished legal existence long before the Congress first recognized them in § 1322(a).” Inter-City 3 Truck Lines, Ltd. v. United States, 408 F.2d 686, 689 (Ct. Claims 1969) (Nichols, J. dissenting). As empowered by Section 322(a), the Secretary has delegated authorization to CBP “to designate as instruments of international traffic, in decisions to be published in the weekly Cus- toms Bulletin, such additional articles or classes of articles as he shall find should be so desig- nated.” 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a); see 25 Fed. Reg. 2530 (Mar. 25, 1960). Lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for textile fabrics, arriving (whether loaded or empty) in use or to be used in the shipment of merchandise in international traffic are [t]hereby designated as “instruments of international traffic” within the meaning of section 322(a). In so designating, “‘instruments of international traffic’ includes the normal accessories and equipment imported with any such instrument which is a ‘container’ as defined in Article 1 4 So defined: of the Customs Convention on Containers.” Id. (“Convention”). 2 While “instruments of international traffic” include “containers” and “accessories,” they are subject to entry once “diverted into domestic use.” Sea-Land Serv. v. United States, 920 F.2d 922, 923 (Fed. Cir. 1990); 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(d). 3 Section 127 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, Implementation of the customs convention on containers, 1972, removed the qualification that the “exemption” in Section 322(a) was “traditional,” and revised duty-free treatment of “accessories” in the tariff schedules. Pub. L. No. 98-573, 98 Stat. 2948, 2959. 4 Customs Convention on Containers, 1972, 988 U.N.T.S. 43; see 34 Fed. Reg. 9798, 9800 (June 25, 1969). 3 [T]he term “container” shall mean an article of transport equip- ment (lift-van, movable tank or other similar structure): (i) fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment intended for containing goods; (ii) of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use; (iii)specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods, by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reload- ing; (iv) designed for ready handling, particularly when being transferred from one mode of transport to another; (v) designed to be easy to fill and to empty; and (vi) having an internal volume of one cubic metre or more; ↳ the term “container” shall include the accessories and equip- ment of the container, appropriate for the type concerned, provided that such accessories and equipment are carried with the container. The term “container” shall not include vehicles, accessories or spare parts of vehicles, or packaging. Demountable bodies, are to 5 be treated as containers. The term “accessories and equipment of the container” shall cover in particular the following devices, even if they are remova- ble: (a) equipment for controlling, modifying or maintaining the temperature inside the container; (b) small appliances, such as temperature or impact record- ers, designed to indicate or record variations in environmental conditions and impact; (c) internal partitions, pallets, shelves, supports, hooks, and 6 similar devices used for stowing goods. “The Convention reflects a national policy to remove impediments to the use of contain- ers as instruments of international traffic.” Japan Line, Ltd. v. County of Los Angeles, 441 U.S. 434, 453 (1979). The “consistent practice” “of the other signatory nations” “is persuasive evi- dence of the Conventions’ meaning.” Itel Containers Int’l Corp. v. Huddleston, 507 U.S. 60, 84 (1993) (Blackmun, J. dissenting). “Such instruments may b

Instruments of International Traffic “All merchandise imported into the United States is required to be entered, unless specifi- cally excepted.” 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(a); see 19 U.S.C. § 1484(c) (“The Customs Service may per- mit the entry and release of merchandise from customs custody in accordance with such regula- 1 The four exceptions to the requirement of entry are tions as the Secretary may prescribe.”). listed under 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(b), one of which is instruments of international traffic. See 19 C.F.R. § 141.4(b)(3). Subheading 9803.00.50, HTSUS, provides for the duty-free treatment of: Substantial containers and holders, if products of the United States (including shooks and staves of United States production when re- turned as boxes or barrels containing merchandise), or if of foreign production and previously imported and duty (if any) thereon paid, or if of a class specified by the Secretary of the Treasury as instru- ments of international traffic, repair components for containers of foreign production which are instruments of international traffic, and accessories and equipment for such containers, whether the ac- cessories and equipment are imported with a container to be 1 Customs revenue functions have been delegated to the Secretary of Homeland Security by the Secretary of Treas- ury, with exceptions herein not applicable, under the authority of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107- 296, §§ 401–19, 116 Stat. 2135, 2177–82; see Treas. Dep’t Order 100-16 (May 15, 2003). 2
reexported separately or with another container, or imported sepa- rately to be reexported with a container. (Emphasis added). Subchapter 98 of the HTSUS only applies to: 1. This subchapter covers only the following: (a) Substantial containers or holders which are subject to tariff treatment as imported articles and are: (i) Imported empty and not within the purview of a provision which specifically exempts them from duty; or (ii) Imported containing or holding articles, an